‘Let me undertake the ECRL project for half the price’

 

I would like to urge transport minister, Loke Siew Fook, to be fully transparent about the cost elements that make up the East Coast Rail Link’s (ECRL) mammoth RM75 billion price tag.

This new figure eclipses all the previous figures quoted by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed and Loke himself (when they were in the previous PH government) and Wee Ka Siong, who took over from Loke in March 2020.

Even after Wee amended the route by swapping the south alignment for a more northern route, the cost quoted was only RM55 billion.

So, where did the new RM75 billion figure come from?

More mind-boggling is the fact that the original figure was said to have been RM86 billion (which was not previously known to the public), allowing the current government to claim it has saved the country RM11 billion.

Too many figures have been bandied about in this ECRL drama, giving rise to much confusion.

Based on the current cost per km (worldwide) for a single-track railway line of a standard gauge, I would be quite happy to undertake the construction of the entire 665km track for half the original price of RM86 billion.

Yes, I am very serious, and I think I can deliver a good product while saving the government about RM43 billion and still make a tidy profit from it, too.

Economic benefits

I will not only reduce government expenditure but will also provide job opportunities for 10,000 local workers, create jobs for 1,000 local technical staff and offer positions for 500 local engineers.

I will be able to offer at least 50 local subcontractors some civil engineering works, e.g., site preparations, earthworks, civil and drainage works, as well as contracts for the supply of equipment and basic materials.

A large portion of my RM43 billion contract payments can be expected to remain and be circulated in Malaysia, to pay for all local employees, technicians, engineers, managers, subcontractors and suppliers.

At least, the money will not flow out of Malaysia.

The contract value will be injected into the local economy, circulated, and every local worker will be flushed with cash in the form of monthly salaries and wages for the next five years.

I will employ mainly the local people of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang and in five years their standard of living will be elevated to a higher level, maybe even on par with those in Selangor or Penang.

I will make sure that most of the construction materials are sourced locally and not imported from China.

All the machinery and equipment will also be sourced locally,including all the basic building materials such as gravel, sand, steel bars, cement, rocks and bricks.

Manufacturing facilities

I will set up a manufacturing plant in Terengganu to build railway coaches.

From the contract price, I will import railway wagons and commission local industrial designers to build modern coaches for the comfort of passengers.

In this way, I will save the country further outflows. Malaysia will stop spending funds unnecessarily to import expensive railway coaches while creating more jobs for local graduates.

In the LRT, MRT, ERL and KTMB modes we have a sufficient market for this. We may even export Malaysian-made coaches to other countries in the future.

Since we do not produce locomotives locally, I will import these from established locomotive producers, preferably from low cost countries like Spain, Romania or Hungary, and put in conditions which specify that they will have to bring the components in so they can be assembled locally.

Local workers could be trained to assemble locomotives.

Through this transfer of technology and technical knowledge, our future workers will become more competent and capable of maintaining the locomotives themselves.

This represents another savings for the country, especially in light of the continuous maintenance problems faced by LRT, MRT and KTMB.

I will also train locals to be involved in rail operation and management, focusing on their knowledge, experience during construction and competency in train operation.

Funds outflow

There clearly are problems with the current rail alignment as half of its route and construction sites are now under water due to floods in Kelantan and Terengganu. One can only imagine what will happen when the monsoon season rolls around again in future years.

The current contract will see the ECRL’s Chinese contractors reap all the financial benefits. Workers have been brought in from mainland China, including chefs, kitchen helpers and even cleaners.

The local economy in Kelantan and Terengganu has not benefited from this massive government expenditure at all. This is very regrettable.

The contracts entered into with the Chinese company did not require the participation of local contractors and workers. As a result, even lower grade workers, machinery, equipment and materials were brought in from China.

The fact that local companies have not been engaged speaks volumes of the failure of the previous governments.

This new government prides itself on its transparency and accountability, so this is the best opportunity to expose all the wrongdoings of its predecessors and show a commitment to right all wrongs.

This project, which involves public funds, should benefit Malaysians and benefit the domestic economy, not foreigners.

Presently, I know many taxpayers are very unhappy. It may be the season of giving, but when it comes to the ECRL project, let’s make sure we do not give it all away.

Merry Christmas! - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.