MUHYIDDIN Yassin says he is not aware of any cancellation of the China-backed East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project, after two ministers earlier today gave conflicting statements about its fate.

Earlier today, Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali had said Putrajaya had cancelled the project. Following this, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng expressed shock at the announcement, adding Azmin may not have been updated on Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s decision.

“I am acting under the instruction of Tun (Dr Mahathir) and the cabinet,” he said.

Muhyiddin, meanwhile, said he was unsure about the status of the project, but said the matter was best left to the ministers in charge of it.

The home minister also confirmed he had attended Wednesday’s cabinet meeting that Lim was referring to.

“Perhaps the prime minister or finance minister will be able to explain it in detail. But I am not involved with ECRL,” he reportedly said today after launching a book by Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

“To prevent any further confusion, I wish to reserve any comments. It is best that cabinet members avoid issuing contradicting statements,” Muhyiddin said. 

In the midst of the confusion, former prime minister Najib Razak took to Facebook to mock PH.

“It’s true, they don’t have a WhatsApp group. But the telephone has been around since 1876,” Najib said in a post following Azmin and Guan Eng’s conflicting responses.

Rebutting this, Muhyiddin said the ministers did indeed have a WhatsApp group and communicated with each other.

“We do have (one),” he said. 

Azmin had earlier annouced that the cabinet decided on Thursday to scrap the project, as RM500 million in interest would have had to be paid annually were it to continue. 

The previous Barisan Nasional government had inked a procurement, construction and commissioning contract with China Communications Construction Co Ltd (CCCC) to develop the RM81 billion railway line, which would have connected Port Klang in Selangor on the west coast of the peninsula to Kelantan’s Pengkalan Kubor on the east coast. – January 26, 2019.