Bandar Malaysia, ECRL proof govt has great vision, says Khairy

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin lauds Prime Minister Najib Razak's wisdom in having one eye on the present and another on the future.

KUALA LUMPUR: Projects such as Bandar Malaysia and the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) are proof that the government has great vision, thinking of the future good of the country, says Khairy Jamaluddin.

In his winding up speech at the Umno general assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) here today, the youth wing chief also cited initiatives such as the High Speed Rail line to Singapore and the Tun Razak Exchange projects to back up his claim.

“TN50 has also shown that the Umno-led government is one for the future,” he said referring to the National Transformation 2015 plan.

Stretching over some 688km from Gombak in Selangor to Tumpat in Kelantan, the ECRL was officially cited to cost RM55 billion, although there have been reports that the cost could swell up to RM70 billion. A second phase is expected to extend the line to Port Klang in the west coast.

The project, which has been described as a “game changer” by Prime Minister Najib Razak has attracted a fair share of criticism, namely from the opposition.Bandar Malaysia, which is located at the former Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Sungei Besi, has not had any takers despite the finance ministry launching a Request for Proposal” in July for companies interested in becoming the master developer for the project.

Bandar Malaysia’s RFP exercise was open only to Fortune 500 companies with a combined revenue of RM50 billion or more in the past three years. But to date, despite some site visits by “interested parties”, as claimed by Treasurer-General Irwan Siregar Abdullah, no firm offer has been forthcoming.

“The government under the Umno president has one eye on the present and one eye on the future,” Khairy said, referring to Najib.

The youth and sports minister than took a swipe at the opposition saying that their promises to do away with tolls and reduce taxes were nothing more than “sweet promises”.

“But we all know that in life, nothing is free. The next generation will bear the cost.” - FMT