Leiking hopes China's Belt and Road will come to Borneo

INTERVIEW | International Trade and Industry Minister Darell Leiking hopes the Malaysian delegation to the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRFIC) in China will bring back good news for Borneo.

Leiking said the successful renegotiation of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) will create economic opportunities for the states the rail line will pass through, and wished the same for Sabah and Sarawak.

"I wish in Sabah and Sarawak they will do something like that (ECRL) as well.

"Who knows, after BRFIC, maybe Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad will hint to the Chinese counterparts and say 'don't forget about the people in Sabah and Sarawak' while they are doing the ECRL and Bandar Tun Razak (sic)," he said in a group interview last week.

It is believed that his remark on Bandar Tun Razak was in reference to the Bandar Malaysia development, which Mahathir announced last Friday would be revived.

The BRFIC is meant to promote China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a mega initiative by the superpower to boost trade by investing in roads, rail lines, and sea routes in other countries.

Many have criticised the initiative as a way for Beijing to create debt traps, but Malaysia nonetheless succeeded in getting an RM21.5 billion discount for the ECRL from the initial RM66.5 million price tag.

According to Leiking, this showed that the Pakatan Harapan government was not against the BRI, but only abuses of the initiative by "some people."

Not in the pipeline

Previously, besides the ECRL, China had also backed gas pipeline projects in Sabah and Malacca.

However, the Suria Strategic Energy Resources (SSER) projects were scrapped by the current government after it found that RM8.3 billion – 88 percent of the construction cost – was paid out for the two projects, despite just 13 percent of works being completed.

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and former treasurer secretary-general Irwan Serigar Abdullah were charged with criminal breach of trust in relation to the project.

Leiking, also the deputy president of Warisan, said there were high hopes for the Sabah pipeline project, but it had to be cancelled due to abuses.

"When there are abuses, where we can no longer save it, we may have to start thinking of alternate projects that will help the power grids in Sabah."

Serving the country

The minister stressed, however, that his duties were to the whole country, and not just his home state.

"So, when we do our trade missions, I never think as a Sabahan but as a minister. But I know I am a Sabahan, that is the challenge for me," he said.

Likewise, Leiking said the BRI should benefit and give opportunities to all Malaysians, and not just the bumiputera.

"As a bumiputera, we know we have the opportunity to work on (BRI projects), but we must also not forget non-bumiputera who are very much part of Malaysia.

"We need to bring everyone together because, in our current system, we need everyone to grow," he said.

BRFIC takes place from Thursday to Friday.

Besides Leiking and Mahathir, other ministers attending the forum are Transport Minister Anthony Loke, Energy, Science, Technology, Environment, and Climate Change Minister Yeo Bee Yin, and Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah. - Mkini