Urging more transparency from the government, opposition parliamentarians today highlighted concerns over the RM55 billion East Coast Rail Link project.

The government should release the pre-feasibility study, feasibility study and the final investment decision for the ECRL, said Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli, Kuala Krai MP Hatta Ramli, Kelana Jaya MP Wong Chen and Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming in a joint statement.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak must table the three documents in Parliament to be truly transparent about the matter and answer concerns from MPs and the public, they said.

If Najib refuses, the MPs said that they themselves will field a team of experts to run their own feasibility study for the project, to be tabled to the rakyat.

They also wanted to know why China Communication Construction Company Ltd (CCCC) is handling the construction, and why the Export-Import Bank of China (Exim) is providing financing for the project.

"Other than the multiplied economic impact not benefiting local companies and workers, what is more worrying is the long term dependency on the Chinese government, if the agreement follows the normal model practiced by the Asian power in other countries," read their statement.

They expressed worry that the high cost of RM55 billion may be inflated to hide pay-offs to help cover 1MDB debts as alleged by whistleblower website Sarawak Report.

In a separate statement, Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin claimed there was a crisis of confidence in the feasibility, transparency, and legality of the project.

While Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua in another statement warned that the Chinese government's favorable terms for financing did not mean the project was feasible.

"A favourable financing rate is not a justifiable excuse not to carry out a proper tender exercise.”

Concerns about the ECRL project multiplied after Sarawak Report's article exposing what it claimed were internal documents detailing plans to inflate the project's coststo allow 1MDB to pay its debts.