Thursday 28 Mar 2024
By
main news image

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on June 13, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday that the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) project has been postponed, and not scrapped as stated previously.

“In a way, it is postponed. At this moment, we need to restudy [the HSR project], and if we are short of funds we can delay the implementation of the project or reduce the scope of the project,” he told reporters in Tokyo.

Earlier that same day, a Japanese news agency reported that he had conceded the need for the HSR in Malaysia — but that it will be meaningful only if the track is “very long” compared with the initial development plan.

“There will be a need for a HSR in the future, probably right through the peninsula. But we cannot afford it at this moment. So, we actually postponed the implementation of the project,” he said in an interview with the Nikkei Asian Review.

The revelation is a reversal of his earlier statements in Malaysia, which was to scrap what he described as an “unnecessary” project that “will not earn the country a single sen”.

It is unclear whether the government has communicated with the Singapore government over the official status of the HSR project.

Singapore previously issued a statement saying it continues to incur costs while it awaits Malaysia’s clarification on the status of the project, but did not elaborate.

Dr Mahathir previously said Malaysia would face a penalty of at least RM500 million under the agreement with Singapore if it axes the project.

The HSR, proposed when Barisan Nasional was leading the federal government, comprises a 335km-long track spanning four states with completion scheduled for 2026.

The project, according to estimates by the new government, would cost RM110 billion — much higher than the RM72 billion guided by the previous administration.

 

New national car idea came from private sector

The idea to reinitiate a fully Malaysian national car company came from the private sector, Dr Mahathir said.

“It was the private sector suggesting [it]. Whoever wants to build [the automaker], they can submit a proposal,” said Dr Mahathir.

Asked for details of proposer, and whether the government has any automakers in mind to work with, he quipped: “I cannot [propose] any party now, because [critics will] say it is cronyism.”

The idea’s main focus is to revive local engineering firms that have had to close after failing to supply car parts “according to the demands of the new owners of Proton”, he said.

“We have acquired knowledge to design, build and mass-produce cars. Unfortunately, Proton [Holdings Bhd] has been [partly] sold to the Chinese, who are given the right to manage Proton. Malaysians now are not making use of their skills”.

Though he conceded that  these firms are “not quite efficient”, he asked critics not to miss the forest for the trees.

“If we make them more efficient, this is a very big market because all over the world, people are outsourcing parts of cars. We can produce parts for branded cars and export them,” he said.

Proton is 49.9% owned by Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd, which bought the stake from DRB-Hicom Bhd as a foreign strategic partner last year.

      Print
      Text Size
      Share