THE Kuala Lumpur High Court today ordered former prime ministers Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin Yassin, as well as three other defendants, to file defence in a suit against them for alleged abuse of public office and negligence linked to the termination of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed ​​Rail (HSR) project.

They were ordered to file their defence statements by February 28.

Apart from the two former prime ministers, the other three defendants being sued by Mohd Hatta Sanuri, 47, are former economy minister Mustapa Mohamed, former transport minister Wee Ka Siong, and the government.

Lawyer Mohaji Selamat, representing Hatta, said the court ordered his client to file a reply to the defence statements by March 28.

The court set March 30 for further case management, he said when contacted after the online case management before senior assistant registrar Nur Shasha Hidayah Nor Azahar today.

Hatta filed the suit on December 30 on behalf of himself and more than 32 million Malaysians who were affected and disappointed by how the defendants wasted resources in allegedly terminating the HSR project.

In the statement of claim, Hatta said Dr Mahathir had committed tort misfeasance in public office when he decided to postpone the HSR project, causing the government and Malaysians to pay a compensation of almost RM46 million to the Singaporean government.

He also claimed Muhyiddin committed tort misfeasance in public office for terminating the project, causing the Malaysian government and the people to pay RM320,270,519.24 in compensation for the cancellation of the bilateral agreement between Malaysia and Singapore.

Hatta said Mustapa, who was responsible for managing the project, had committed a similar offence by shelving the project, while Wee committed tort misfeasance in public office for denying Malaysians their right to enjoy a first-class transport system by cancelling the project.

Hatta is seeking a court order to declare the cancellation of the project null and void, and for all the defendants to pay RM1 million in compensation to him and all Malaysians for wrongfully and negligently cancelling the HSR project.

On January 1, 2021, Malaysia and Singapore announced the termination of the 350km HSR project as the two countries failed to reach an agreement on changes proposed by Malaysia before the expiry of the project agreement on December 31, 2020.

Accordingly, Malaysia paid S$102.8 million (RM320.27 million) to Singapore for costs incurred during the development of the HSR project. – Bernama, February 2, 2023.