PUTRAJAYA should allow public access to all documents pertaining to China-backed mega projects in the country for Malaysians to decide if the previous Barisan Nasional administration had acted in bad faith.
Former prime minister Najib Razak said the people had the right to know if the new government had valid grounds for cancelling the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and two oil and gas pipelines or if it was merely to “incite public anger at BN or the Chinese government”.
In a Facebook post today, Najib also urged Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to establish a royal commission of inquiry to determine if there had been any wrongdoing in the three deals.
“Until all the relevant documents are revealed, I am disappointed for the people on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia as they are going to miss out on economic growth with the cancellation of the ECRL project,” he said.
He said the agreements for the projects had exit clauses, unlike the independent power producer and toll agreements signed by the first Mahathir administration.
“As a result of that, until now, even the PH government is unable to stop toll collection.”
Dr Mahathir today said it was yet to be determined whether these mega projects would be cancelled or merely deferred.
He said the Chinese government had agreed that Malaysia had to overcome its financial problems but it was up to the companies which had signed the deals to decide whether to cancel or postpone the projects.
Najib said that when he was in his Pekan constituency for Hari Raya Haji yesterday, many people had expressed disappointment over the cancellation of the ECRL project by the PH government.
He also said it was untrue that BN had received kickbacks from China for the project, and that the RM30 billion cost was based on a 2009 estimate which only covered a distance of 545km.
The BN government eventually decided to increase the distance to 688km in 2016, which was why the final cost rose to RM55 billion.
The PH government had said that the ECRL project will cost the government RM81 billion and the two gas pipeline projects another RM9 billion.
Najib also denied that the loan and the interest rates were too high as claimed by the PH government, adding that the government could afford to go ahead with the three projects.
“Even if the cost of the ECRL is RM81 billion and with RM9 billion for the pipelines, the overall cost is RM90 billion.
“The loans for the three projects are for 20 years and we need not have to pay in one-go. We only have to pay RM4.5 billion per year for 20 years, with no payment for the first seven years,” he said.
The ECRL contractor is state-owned China Communications Construction Co Ltd. The rail link, if built, would have connected Port Klang in Selangor and Pengkalan Kubor in Kelantan. It had been due to be constructed in two phases.
The two pipeline projects had been contracted to China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau by the Finance Ministry-owned Suria Strategic Energy Resources Sdn Bhd (SSER).
SSER was set up on May 19, 2016 with the specific intent of undertaking the two pipeline projects. Both projects were approved by the cabinet on July 27, 2016.
It was reported that, as at end March this year — about 12 months after the three-year projects started — RM8.3 billion or 87.7% of the total contract value had been paid to China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau, although only 13% of the project had been completed. – August 23, 2018.
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