UPSET with the cancellation of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) project, former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak called for the Government to be transparent on the matter.
“The Government should tell the truth instead of using the economy or COVID-19 to cancel the project.
“Besides, both local and foreign media have come up with many insider stories on potential reasons why the project was cancelled,” he said in a Facebook post.
Upon HSR’s cancellation, both the Malaysian and Singapore governments issued separate statements to announce the termination of the KL HSR Bilateral Agreement yesterday.
Singapore’s Transport Ministry said Putrajaya had allowed the HSR bilateral agreement to be terminated and has agreed to compensate the republic for costs already incurred in fulfilling its obligations under the agreement.
Malaysia, on the other hand, said it would honour its obligations under the HSR Bilateral Agreement with Singapore and pay compensation, which may run the tune of RM300 mil.
The Government said it was best to build a domestic high-speed rail project. However, former Transport Minister Anthony Loke criticised the Government’s suggestion calling it nonsensical.
Loke had asked if the proposed domestic HSR entails a rail line from KL to Johor Baru, adding such a project would be redundant since there is already a project that would link Johor’s capital city to Kuala Lumpur via the Gemas electronic train system line, which spans all the way to Padang Besar, Perlis.
Training his guns against the Government, Najib said that the former’s decision was vague as it did not answer pertinent questions raised by the media.
“For example, has the Government decided on the local high-speed project and when will it be announced?
“And what it the difference in terms of cost? I was made to understand that the cancelled HSR project and the new domestic one does not differ that much,” he said.
Najib added that the Government should also answer whether Malaysia will suffer reduced income as it will only cater domestic travels.
“And will we be compensating the private contractor for the reduction in come due to the HSR project cancellation?
“Because based on the original project, both Malaysia and Singapore will be tasked to choose the contractors and technology provider to finish the project,” he remarked. – Jan 2, 2021
