ECRL project will continue

as planned, says Dr M
• NATION
• Friday, 20 Sep 2019 

8:08 PM MYT By ZAKIAH KOYA
• 


image: https://apicms.thestar.com.my/uploads/images/
2019/09/20/283511.jpg

KUALA LUMPUR: The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) will continue as
planned unless the company involved in the project can negotiate
with China, says Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The Prime Minister said that he is willing to follow if the company
can renegotiate the deal and suspend the project.
"The company has to conduct negotiations. If they are willing to
negotiate with the Chinese and tell me that they can suspend the
project, I will follow them," said Dr Mahathir.
He was asked to respond to a statement by former Council of
Eminent Persons' and economist Professor Jomo Kwame Sundram,
who had called for the government to re-examine the ECRL project
once again after a witness in the 1MDB trial testified in court that
the project was a possible bail-out.

Jomo had said the Federal Government must not be complicit in

continuing to cover up what the previous government was trying to
do with public funds.
He said that as the government will have to continue subsidising the
railway, unless it is built to be left unused, which defeats the
purpose.
"Datuk Amhari's court testimony under oath clearly suggests
considerable abuse in how the ECRL, the gas pipelines and other
projects were conceived, approved and financed.
"The MACC should follow up with further investigations and advise
the government accordingly.
"In the meantime, these projects should be suspended if they are
not already cancelled.
"The amount of government-guaranteed loans grew much faster
under the old regime than government debt, but the government will
still be liable especially as the project will never pay for itself and,
now we know, was never intended to do so," Jomo said to The Star
on Friday (Sept 20).
In response to this, Dr Mahathir said that Jomo is entitled to his
opinion but that the government stands by what the Chinese
government stated.
"That are his (Jomo's) thoughts, but the Chinese government has
not told us anything.
It may have a contract to construct it and as you know, we have
reduced the scope and the cost," said Dr Mahathir.
He also said that it is up to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption
Commission (MACC) to investigate the ECRL project.
"That's for them to investigate, we don't ask them (the MACC) to do
anything," said Dr Mahathir.
He said this to the media after an event officiating the Heritage and
National Culture Charter at an event at the Islamic Arts Museum
Malaysia, co-organised by Albukhary Foundation and Budi
Foundation here on Friday.

TAGS / KEYWORDS:
East Coast Rail Link , ECRL , Mahathir Mohamad

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/09/20/

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