Guan Eng: PM told me not to make statements on ECRL for now

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has declined to comment on the government's final decision regarding the East Coast Railway Link (ECRL) project.

“I met Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad this morning and he has suggested that I do not make any statement for the time being.

“So please wait for the statement when we are ready to go.

“As soon as we are ready, we will let you know,” he said when pressed on the matter during a media conference in Kuala Lumpur this morning.

Earlier today, Mahathir told the media that the RM81 billion project would “impoverish” Malaysia.

However, the premier did not state the government's definitive decision on the project but instead said Lim would explain the matter soon.

As for the compensation Malaysia would need to pay should it terminate the ECRL project, Mahathir said the amount would be less than the debt generated from going ahead with it.

"We seek the understanding of the parties concerned that it is not because we want to frustrate or throw out the contract but because we are really tight in terms of finance.

"We just cannot pay. We have to cut back on some of the expenditure incurred by the previous government," he said.

The prime minister's comments come after Lim and Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali recently issued contradictory statements about the project.

Azmin had earlier said the project had been terminated to which Lim expressed shock, saying the former might not have access to all details of the ECRL discussions. - Mkini