MINISTERS who recommended that the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project be terminated at the cost of RM320 million in compensation for breach of agreement must resign now that Putrajaya has changed its mind and wants to revive the project, DAP said today.

Party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said Malaysia is now an “international laughing stock” for proposing to revive the project after paying RM320 million (S$102.8 million) in compensation to Singapore earlier this year.

The decision to end the railway project on January 1 was made by the Muhyiddin Yassin administration. Hs successor Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob called for its revival during a visit to Singapore yesterday.

“This flip-flop is symbolic of both PN and BN government incompetence and indecisiveness that has cost taxpayers unnecessarily RM320 million for a start-stop-start project,” Lim, a former finance minister said in a statement.

“Muhyiddin Yassin has already resigned as prime minister and the ministers involved such as Minister of International Trade and Industry Azmin Ali, Economic Affairs Minister Mustapa Mohamad and the Transport Ministry must explain,” the Bagan MP added, referring to the two ministers who remain in Ismail’s cabinet.

The Pakatan Harapan government had suspended for a a review of pricing and cost structure that the previous Barisan Nasional government had agreed to. 

The succeeding Muhyiddin government then called off the project and replaced it with a HSR from KL to Johor Baru. Malaysia, as a result, had to recompense Singapore RM320 million under the terms of the contract.

The opposition held that a HSR project stopping in Johor Baru was not financially viable besides being logistically impractical.

While Lim welcomed Ismail’s proposal to revive the HSR link with Singapore as it would shorten travel time between KL and the republic to 2.5 hours, he said there must be full accountability and transparency from the ministers who had recommended the project’s termination.

Singapore’s Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung had revealed in March this year that the main reason both countries could not reach an agreement on the HSR project was because Malaysia wanted to do away with the jointly tendered asset company (AssetsCo). 

AssetsCo would have enabled “an open and transparent international tender” and accountability to both countries, Ong had said.

Lim said Ismail must now commit to transparency and open tenders in the revived project and also ensure that the cost would not be  excessive and disadvantageous to Malaysia.

Yesterday, Ismail Sabri suggested reviving discussions with Singapore on the project. Singapore prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, said the republic was open to new proposals from Putrajaya. – November 30, 2021.