FORMER prime minister Najib Razak has denied fresh allegations in an Australian daily yesterday that a mega railway project he had started had an inflated price tag to pay consultants, including rogue financier Low Taek Jho and pay the debt obligations of state firm 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

“It’s not true, we’ve already come out with a statement,” Najib said when asked about a report in The Australian that the cost for the East Coast Railway (ECRL) was inflated by RM30 billion to pay off debts owed by scandal-racked 1MDB.

The report also claimed that the extra cost of the ECRL was to pay for consultants and to buy over companies linked to Low, popularly known as Jho Low, a former close associate of Najib accused of masterminding the diversion of billions ringgit from 1MDB.

The Australian reported that China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), the project’s developer, was asked to inflate the ECRL’s price tag.

The mammoth ECRL was one of Najib’s flagship projects when he was prime minister, and was to run from Gombak in Selangor through to Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan.

However, after it won the 14th general election, Pakatan Haparan has decided to review the project after it claimed that its costs had risen to RM81 billion. – January 19, 2019.