DR Mahathir Mohamad agreed with the government’s decision to cancel the high-speed rail (HSR) project between Malaysia and Singapore, saying that the project was a burden to Malaysia.

He said the billion-ringgit project would be unnecessary at present when the country was still in debt.

“I don’t think this was an important project to embark on. We can wait for another 20 to 30 years,” Dr Mahathir said in a press conference at the Perdana Leadership Foundation in Putrajaya today.

He added the hefty payment of RM80 billion the country was supposed to pay would be detrimental to the country’s economy.

“This is only for 230km where the time you can save is about 50 minutes. For that 50 minutes, you have to pay so much money.

“Worst still, the cost of building this HSR has gone up to RM80 billion. We will never get back our money,” Dr Mahathir said.

On January 1, Malaysia and Singapore announced the cancellation of the 350km rail line project after failing to reach an agreement on proposed changes by the December 31, 2020, deadline.

The bilateral agreement for the project’s development, signed with Singapore on December 13, 2016, was intended to encourage economic integration between the two countries.

However, Umno leaders have slammed the government for cancelling the project, which they said would have brought economic prosperity to the southern region. – January 7, 2021.