‘ECRL talks are still going on’
It’s not easy but we’ll keep at it until we succeed, says PM
SERI KEMBANGAN: Negotiations on the East Coast Rail Link are still ongoing but will not be an easy task, said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The Prime Minister said the government would continue to negotiate until it succeeded in lowering the cost of the railway project.
“The ECRL will continue. It’s not an easy thing to negotiate, but we will continue until we succeed.
“I can’t tell how long we need. I don’t know the progress,” he told reporters after opening the 2018 World Chinese Economic Forum (WCEF) here yesterday.
Dr Mahathir was asked about Council of Eminent Persons chairman Tun Daim Zainuddin’s statement that talks on ECRL were still going on with China.
The 688km rail project was first approved by the previous administration on Oct 21, 2016, and the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning Agreement was signed with China Communication Construction Company on Nov 1 the same year.
The Pakatan Harapan government scrapped the project pending negotiations, saying it was overpriced and not economically feasible.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng told Parliament in August that the actual cost of completing the project was RM80.92bil and not RM55bil as announced by the previous government.
Meanwhile, on the samurai bonds offered by Japan, Dr Mahathir said they came with “no strings attached”.
He was asked if national projects would be offered in exchange for the bonds.
“The yen credit can be used to repay loans or to spend on projects. There are no strings attached,” he added.
In his keynote address at the launch of WCEF earlier, Dr Mahathir said the Chinese community undoubtedly contributed much to the development of Malaysia.
He added that these contributions were not confined to business and generating profits, but also encompassed many other fields.
He also lauded the ability of the Chinese community to adjust themselves in an ever-changing world.
“They have a knack for creating
wealth wherever they go. They are business-oriented people and know how to deal with money and people.
“The government is good at collecting that wealth. Without the business people creating the wealth, the government can collect no wealth,” he quipped.
On a more serious note, Dr Mahathir said the direction towards the Fourth Industrial Revolution required a complete change of attitude and knowledge.
He said this is an age where knowledge reigned supreme and he urged Malaysians to gain as much
knowledge as possible in order to cope with new ideas and how businesses would be carried out in the future.
“We now talk about artificial intelligence, machines and thinking machines. The world has changed and the way business is done has changed.
“We see a change in the attitude and ways people can take advantage of technologies,” he said.