SINGAPORE’S Ministry of Transport has refuted Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali’s claim that he met with “senior officials from Singapore” over the weekend to discuss the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) project. 

Azmin said yesterday he met Singapore authorities while he was in the republic on Sunday, visiting Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is currently undergoing treatment here, recuperating from surgery to remove a pancreatic tumour. 

Azmin did not reveal whom he met but Bernama quoted him as saying “The meeting went in a  positive manner”.

He added that “the official meeting will take place some time in August”.

However, a spokesman from MOT said no meeting has been scheduled, nor has taken place between Azmin and Singapore officials overseeing the HSR project.

“As of August 6, 2018, the Malaysian government has not provided the clarifications sought by Singapore and has not communicated their proposed dates for such discussions,” the spokesman added.

The HSR project, first proposed by Malaysia in 2013, is a 350km line that would have slashed rail travel time between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to 90 minutes.

But its fate has been uncertain since the new Pakatan Harapan government won the May 9 election, with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and some of his ministers vowing to scrap the project in order to trim Putrajaya’s RM1 trillion debt.

Singapore’s transport minister Khaw Boon Wan said the republic had sent a diplomatic note to Malaysia on June 1 seeking clarification on its position on the HSR project.

Singapore’s Ministry of Transport also asked Putrajaya to clarify its official position in writing by July 31 and to indicate, also by that date, if it still wished to hold bilateral talks on the strained project. 

Meanwhile, Singapore continues to incur cost on the project, with expenditure expected to hit some S$300 million (RM900 million) by year-end, Khaw told Parliament on July 9, warning that a “significant” amount of the funds spent would be “completely wasted” if the project was called off. – todayonline, August 7, 2018.