Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has downplayed concerns of strained ties with China and Singapore, stating he believed the two nations understood Malaysia's reasons for reviewing their respective railway mega-projects.
Speaking to Singapore's Channel NewsAsia (CNA), Lim said he was sure the two countries understood that the new government was dealing with RM1 trillion in accumulative debt and liabilities from the previous regime and was therefore forced to reconsider the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) with China and the High-Speed Rail (HSR) project with Singapore.
"We are confident China understands our debt predicament and they'll be willing to help us out, give us a helping hand.
"As far as the HSR is concerned, it's scrapped for now as announced by the PM but in the future, that is something that we want to discuss with the Singapore government [...] in that sense, we're talking about the possibility of deferring and discussing with our good neighbours Singapore to see how they can help us out of this debt predicament," he told CNA.
The minister added that Malaysia would perhaps consider reviving the HSR project in a year or two but added that he was confident Singapore realised Malaysia's current fiscal state did not permit the latter to embark on high-cost projects at the present time.
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had announced that the government was scrapping the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR project, despite the risk of incurring a penalty close to RM500 million, stating the project was too expensive and would not benefit the Malaysians.
The move allegedly took Singapore by surprise.
Mahathir had also stated the government was reviewing all deals made with China including the RM60 billion ECRL contract which he described as "strange".
Lim is also slated to visit the two countries soon to further explain Malaysia's position.
Lim has stated that aside the ECRL, he would discuss the controversial RM9.4 billion gas pipeline projects with China as well as other bilateral matters in his maiden trip to the country.
The gas line projects involve the Multi-Product Pipeline (MPP) and Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline (TSGP) projects undertaken by Suria Strategic Energy Resources Sdn Bhd (SSER) which are said to be linked to the beleaguered 1MDB fund.
SSER is a wholly-owned Finance Ministry subsidiary set up in 2016 with the specific intent to undertake the two gas line projects.
Controversy arose when it was revealed the government had paid RM8.25 billion, or 87.7 percent of the total project value when only 13 percent of work had been carried out. -Mkini
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