THE return of Dr Mahathir Mohamad to power after 15 years is likely to cause consternation across the Causeway, Bloomberg reports.

Dr Mahathir said he plans to review Malaysia’s big-ticket infrastructure projects, among them the high-speed railway project, which Singapore is pushing.

The new prime minister’s relationship with the city state has in the past been testy, especially when the late Lee Kuan Yew was in power.

The two leaders bickered frequently over the price of Malaysian water supplied to Singapore to Pulau Batu Puteh, sale of KTM railway land in Singapore and Dr Mahathir’s failed bid to build a “crooked bridge” to replace the Causeway.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Kuan Yew’s son, said in a Facebook post on Thursday, a day after the shock GE14 results that “we are following the situation closely. As Malaysia’s closest neighbour, we have a vested interest in Malaysia’s stability and prosperity”.

For now, said Bloomberg, Singapore’s concern is the planned high-speed rail link. Singapore aims to start construction next year and complete the project by 2026. – May 14, 2018.