THE government has no reason to commit itself to salvaging the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project following the emergence of evidence in court on how the project was used to bail out 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), said prominent economist Prof Jomo Kwame Sundaram.

He was referring to the testimony of Najib Razak’s former special officer Amhari Efendi Nazaruddin in the 1MDB trial last week. 

Amhari had said the ECRL was among a few projects used to bail out 1MDB.

Jomo said Amhari’s disclosure should “fundamentally re-open everything” with regards to the ECRL, noting that the Pakatan Harapan government’s decision to re-launch the project with a reduced scope was done prior to the witness’ testimony.

“I’m sure President Xi Jinping, who has been very strict about corruption in China, will not want to be associated with any kind of corruption… international corruption, which will also destroy the reputation of the Belt and Road initiative,” Jomo told reporters after a forum on Budget 2020 today.

“I think we have a huge opportunity now to reopen the whole question. I’m sure this is the time when we should not commit ourselves,” he said in the Budget 2020: Making Shared Prosperity a Reality forum.

Jomo said the revised cost of RM44 billion from RM66 billion for the project was not a trivial sum.

ECRL was revived in April after being put on hold last July, following a renegotiation between Putrajaya, main contractor China Communications Construction Company Ltd and the Chinese government.

“Now we have a very important disclosure on the circumstances under which the ECRL was hashed out. 

“Nobody has refuted that and certainly Shafee, who is interrogating the witness, did not fundamentally challenge the statements made,” Jomo added, referring to Najib’s lead defence lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.

He said given the implications of corruption, there could be a solution if the Malaysian government approached the Chinese government with the available information.

“This new government should not be complacent in covering up what the previous government was trying to do, or at least the leadership of the previous government,” he added.

Otherwise, the project would be a “permanent albatross” for Putrajaya will have to continue to subsidise the potentially under-utilised railway, said Jomo who is also a member of the Council of Eminent Persons formed after PH took over the federal government last year.

During the forum earlier, Jomo spoke of the burden on Putrajaya to subsidise an under-utilised railway not only throughout the construction phase but also its maintenance.

He said the ECRL was not a case of government subsiding public transport, but a “fundraising project to cover up” other misdeeds.

“Amhari’s testimony is quite clear. Although he remains personally loyal to Datuk Seri Najib, it was very clear what the whole scam was about.

“I think that forces the country to think very seriously about what the ECRL project was about and it is still not too late to cancel it and to have a thorough investigation and I’m sure it will reach to the rejection of the entire project.”

A rejection of ECRL, however, did not mean Putrajaya should not invest in the east coast, particularly Kelantan, which has major water and sanitation problems, Jomo said.

Rather, transportation planning should be re-looked and developed in ways that are corruption-free and to avoid white elephants. – September 19, 2019.