HSR project is not value for money, says Dr M

 

The proposed high-speed rail was cancelled after Malaysia and Singapore were unable to agree on some aspects of the project.(Bernama pic)

PUTRAJAYA: Dr Mahathir Mohamad has dismissed the significance of the recently cancelled Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project, saying it was not value for money.

Speaking at a press conference today, the Langkawi MP said he did not think the project was important enough and that it could wait for another 10 to 20 years.

“The distance this high speed train can travel is just 230km, the amount of time you can save is about 50 minutes.

“For that 50 minutes, you have to pay such a large sum of money, but worse still, the cost of building this HSR has gone up to almost RM80 billion. We will never get back our money,” the former prime minister said.

The government recently announced the cancellation of the HSR project after Malaysia and Singapore were unable to agree on some aspects of the project before the bilateral agreement lapsed on Dec 31.

Malaysian officials also spoke about a possible domestic high-speed rail network, with the line ending in Johor Bahru.

Economics minister Mustapa Mohamed said disagreements over project structure, alignment and station design had caused the project to fall through.

However, Singapore’s Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung had said the project had failed because Malaysia had wanted to do away with the jointly tendered asset company which he said was not part of the deal signed in 2016.

The government has since been urged to reveal the amount of money it had spent on the project, as it had made use of public funds. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim had also called for prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin to clarify Singapore’s claim about the removal of AssetsCo, said to be a fundamental part of the project. - FMT