By Syauqi Jamil
KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail may very well be postponed rather than cancelled as Putrajaya could not compensate Singapore at this time.
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said in order to proceed, the project might be either delayed or continued at reduced price which he admit could be an uphill battle.
“Singapore wants to know the status of the project and our stance on the matter. But when we look at our financial situation, we cannot implement it.
“We decided we might have to do it at later date or at a reduced price, but the reduction of price is very difficult.
“At the moment, we don’t have the funds. So if need be, we will put the project on hold,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.
In May, Mahathir had said that the government would withdraw from the HSR agreement with Singapore as it was deemed as an unnecessary project.
Earlier in July, Singapore had stated that a compensation of RM743 million will be imposed to Malaysia should it decide to pull out from the mega project.
Yesterday, Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali revealed that the overall costing of HSR which includes ‘hidden costs’ was actually RM110 billion.
The figure are way off from the initial costing mentioned by the previous government which was said to be between RM54 billion and RM74 billion.
Mahathir also reiterated Azmin who yesterday said that he would be visiting Singapore by the end of the month.
The Langkawi MP confirmed that Malaysian officials will meet with Singapore counterparts to discuss the status of the project as well as other costs involved.
