YOURSAY | Do we want to ‘donate’ another RM320m to Singapore?

YOURSAY | ‘The HSR is about as necessary as another Malay-dominated govt.’

After paying RM320m to axe KL-S'pore HSR, PM now proposes revival

BobbyO: Singapore will agree to only finance their part of the railway - that is, up to their borders. Anywhere after that, it is up to Malaysia if it wants to appoint local contractors.

Singapore knows the Umno politicians want to enrich themselves and their cronies by appointing consultants and contractors of their own choice.

Another question that arises is whether Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob is in charge of running this nation or former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

By bringing back a project cancelled by the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, which Ismail Sabri was a part of, it raised serious speculative questions.

Is Najib in the driving seat now after winning the Malacca elections? There, it was not Ismail Sabri that got the limelight but Najib. It was he who was working on the ground to win the support of the voters.

Did we not pay hundreds of millions of ringgit in compensation? Why revive the project now when we are in such huge debts? Are Najib and his cronies, who were allegedly supposed to profit from it, trying to revive it to benefit themselves?

Veritas: This country eventually decided to contribute RM320 million to Singapore's coffers because the ruling cabal did not want an open tender process.

Now it seems the sources of mega corruption have been drying up, so the railway gravy train is being revived again, and again, expect no open tender provisions so as to allow for the ‘welfare’ of the corrupt.

It's amazing that pre-colonial piracy of the ruling class never died in this land.

Equally preposterous is ordinary people getting ripped off in the process, though equally sad they actively participate in this since race and religion so easily divert their gaze toward their navels.

YellowRusa5552: The problem with these Umno leaders is that they think borrowed money is not their problem to settle - let the next generation suffers the pain of paying back.

This also includes the tens of billions that the infamous kleptocrat wasted over the years under 1MDB. So, who is going to shoulder the burden of their reckless spending and stupidity?

If the bulk of the Malays don't wake up now and realise that the Umno government will ruin the future of our children with a huge debt burden, then this country is indeed doomed - not later but sooner.

The Analyser: Come down to earth, Mr PM. The HSR is about as necessary as another Malay-dominated government.

You have to get over the ongoing obsession with megaprojects (with their associated potential for corruption) and start thinking about the needs of the people.

Megaprojects do not stimulate the economy; they stimulate a very small part of the economy and that stimulus does not filter down to the rakyat.

In fact, megaprojects stimulate greed, corruption and business inefficiencies because contractors know the government doesn’t care so long as they are “assisted”.

Dr Raman Letchumanan: Do we ever learn? Do we want to donate another RM320 million to Singapore? Why is the government not telling us the sunk costs incurred on our side? Even the response from Singapore's PM is guarded, reminding us of our own folly.

I remember Najib proposing this revival during the debate on the 12MP. It seems our PM is being advised by the so-called “economic adviser”.

Is this proposal continued in the 12MP? Why are such big-ticket projects undertaken outside our budgeting and development framework? To escape Parliament scrutiny?

This is constitutionally wrong. Will Pakatan Harapan take it up, or are they shackled by the MOU (memorandum of understanding)?

Where is the money coming from? Already we are borrowing heavily for all our development projects, probably even operating expenditure. It seems the politicians are bent on taking Malaysians to the cleaners at super high speed.

MS: Okay, so RM320 million gone, but so what? Imagine how much more money may be made if the project is restarted, and how many bottom feeders may be satisfied after the usual suspects at the top take their share?

Whatever it is, all signs are that Najib is firmly back in the seat directing the clueless one to do as he commands. Maybe he knows something about Dec 8.

OrangePanther1466: I maintain that the HSR benefits Singapore more than Malaysia. We also wanted many stops to benefit the areas the HSR passes through. So, what's the point of having a high-speed train?

Just upgrading the electric double tracking system which uses the existing alignment would be sufficient. This was what former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had proposed.

P Ramlee: Do you know how much is the total national debt and liability now? Shouldn't we be thinking about paying back instead of funding these non-urgent megaprojects?

Harapan, where is the check and balance?

The Middle Lane: RM320 million hard cash divided by 10,000 households means that each will get RM32,000, which is now all down the drain.

The nation is already so poor but the government still wants to throw more money away, and Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong is ready to say thank you.

Phgoh: Has Ismail Sabri gone bonkers? Or is this another attempt to milk the taxpayers again on another idiotic venture?

Umno assumes that it is going to win big in the next general election, so it is paving the way to fund white elephants to rip off taxpayers. - Mkini