Mega projects such as Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR to be fully reviewed by new Malaysian government

New Malaysia's economic affairs minister Azmin Ali has stated on Tuesday (22 May) that the new Pakatan Harapan (PH) government will fully review mega projects awarded by the previous administration, such as the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) and the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL).

Datuk Seri Azmin, who was sworn-in on Monday as part of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's 14-member Cabinet, said, "We want to see all the mega projects approved by the previous administration. We might have to revisit and renegotiate the terms of some of the projects if it isn't implemented yet."

In a Tweet, Mr Azmin noted that he took a call from Singapore Minister of Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing.

"Had 10 min chat - looking forward to working together on matters of mutual concern," he wrote.

PH won the country's watershed 9 May elections and saw to the end of Barisan Nasional's rule for the first time in six decades.

Prior to the GE14, the HSR agreement was signed by Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan and Malaysian Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Dato’ Abdul Rahman Dahlan in Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur and witnessed by Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong and former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

The 350km HSR link project is said to cost up to RM50 billion (S$16 billion).

Tender for proposals to design, build, finance and maintain the rail assets drew strong interest from the private sector since it was called last December, with consortiums from China, Japan, South Korea and Europe throwing their names into the hat. The HSR's express service between the two cities was scheduled to start running by 31 December 2026.

Dr Mahathir, however, has pledged to review all mega projects sanctioned under the former Najib-administration, such as the HSR and the RM$55 billion East Coast Rail Link, labelling some of these as "wasteful" and "unnecessary".

On Monday, Dr Mahathir expressed alarm at how Malaysia's debt has reached RM1 trillion (S$337 billion), adding that important measures must be taken for the South-east Asian country to quickly recover from the situation.

Mr Azmin said on Tuesday that the EPU had briefed him on the RM1 trillion debt, which caused "major alarm" within the new administration.

"This (debt) has caused a major alarm to the new administration. We have to look at the details on what contributed to this huge debt of almost RM1 trillion. Part of it is because the (tender) process was not open or transparent. Most of the projects were off budget. It was not under or part of the national budget," he said.

This entry was posted in ASEAN.

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