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Decision on mega-projects including HSR ‘very soon’: Mahathir

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Other mega-projects also under review as country tries to pare its enormous debts

PUTRAJAYA A decision on mega-projects like the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High Speed Rail (HSR) will be made "very soon", Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday.

He was speaking at a press conference held immediately after he chaired the first Cabinet meeting of Malaysia's new government elected on May 9.

The 350km rail deal between Singapore and Malaysia had been inked in 2016 under previous prime minister Najib Razak, but Dr Mahathir had said it would be reviewed, alongside a number of other mega-projects, The Straits Times reported.

The new Malaysian government is looking at ways to cut costs drastically to pare its debts of RM1 trillion (S$337 billion).

Dr Mahathir also announced that the Land Public Transport Commission, which led negotiations for the HSR under the previous government, among other functions, would be abolished.

Its tasks would be carried out by the Transport Ministry instead, he added.

Other mega-projects being reviewed include the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) connecting the country's east and west coasts, to ensure the deal was reached in a transparent way.

The HSR is estimated to cost up to RM50 billion, and cut the travelling time between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to 90 minutes.

The ECRL is expected to cost RM66 billion.

But MyHSR Corp chief executive Mohd Nur Ismal Mohamed Kamal estimated early this month that Malaysia could lose RM209 billion in gross national income if the HSR was scrapped.

The HSR agreement is also binding, and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had said in January that "if the subsequent governments have other ideas, that will have to be dealt with and the agreement will deal with these contingencies".

At a separate press conference yesterday, Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke declined to give an indication of just how soon the review's decision would be made.

He said: "We will work fast. A decision will be made soon, but how soon, we cannot answer because it takes time to review."

The new Cabinet has also agreed to take a 10 per cent cut in ministers' salaries to curb government expenditure.

"We are concerned about the country's financial problems. We find that ministers' salaries are lower than high-ranking civil servants. (But) we will reduce ministers' salaries by 10 per cent," Dr Mahathir told the news conference.

The prime minister of Malaysia makes about RM22,825 a month, while a minister earns a monthly salary of about RM15,000.

Meanwhile, the search for flight MH370 will end on Tuesday, Mr Loke said yesterday, AFP reported.

The decision comes more than four years after the Malaysia Airlines jet vanished in March 2014 with 239 people on board, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

 

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