S’pore asks KL to give written response on HSR

SINGAPORE: Singapore has asked the Malaysian government to provide a written response to clarify its position on the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project by the end of this month, the Straits Times newspaper here reported.

Quoting the Transport Ministry’s spokesman, the newspaper report said if Malaysia wished to meet Singapore to discuss the project, it should do so by that same date.

“They have yet to provide Singapore with any of the clarifications sought, or communicate their proposed dates for such discussions,” the spokesman was quoted as saying.

The spokesman added that the ministry made its request to Malaysia via diplomatic channels.

The report said the spokesman was responding to queries from the media about comments made by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday.

Dr Mahathir said Malaysia would negotiate a deferment of the project with the island nation to avoid paying any compensation under an earlier plan to scrap it.

He said there would be discussions on the matter when Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali visited the citystate at the end of the month.

Azmin’s office said it would inform Singapore about proposed dates for the discussion, but no date had been set for a meeting, the report added.