THE news that new East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project will skip several stations does not seem to have affected its fully staffed office in Bentong, one of several stops which have been scrapped.

Last Friday, Putrajaya ended months of uncertainty and speculation when it said that the China-backed rail project will continue but will scrap several stations, including the one in Bentong.

Bentong would have been the seventh station in the original ECRL project which connects Port Klang in Selangor to Pengkalan Kubor, Kelantan.

A check at the office yesterday revealed a bustling office environment, with some 20 vehicles parked outside.

An employee who spoke to The Malaysian Insight on condition of anonymity said even though the government had scrapped the Bentong station, no directive on the matter has been issued by the office and workers have been showing up for work as usual.

“For now, we are to show up for work as usual, the company had not issued any directive and we have been told not to speak to outsiders,” the employee said.

The Malaysian Insight last visited the ECRL’s seventh section office on March 1, when an employee said China nationals were slowly returning to work after the then-suspended project was rumoured to be resuming soon.

There are 126 employees at the Bentong station, comprising 35 administrators, 57 drivers, 18 technicians, and 16 janitors and service personnel. Out of the number, 76 locals make up the workforce.

The original RM81 billion ECRL contract was signed between the previous Barisan Nasional government and the China Communications Construction Company Ltd company.

The Prime Minister’s Department said Putrajaya and China reached an agreement to reduce the cost for the first two phases of ECRL to RM44 billion, a reduction of RM21.5 billion from the previous RM65.5 billion.

The statement said the cost reduction will reduce the financial burden on the nation’s coffers.

Under the new deal, the ECRL route would be shortened and rerouted at several sections. Bentong will be bypassed in the new alignment. – April 17, 2019.