The cancellation of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project will have dire consequences for Malaysia, suggested an opinion piece in a China daily.

The Global Times reporter Hu Weijia wrote a scathing opinion piece yesterday which criticised the move to scrap the HSR project as well as the reviewing of big projects linked to China's interests, such as the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL).

"Malaysia's new Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said he will ditch a planned high-speed rail link with Singapore, a move that would likely damage the interests of China or other economic partners.

"If Mahathir wants to review big projects agreed to by his predecessor and damage the interests of Chinese companies, those companies have the right to claim compensation.

"The Chinese government will also take concrete measures to safeguard the interests and rights of Chinese enterprises," states the article, which was published last night.

The Global Times is a daily China tabloid newspaper, in English, and is under the auspices of the People's Daily newspaper. It focuses on international issues from China's perspective.

The article pointed out that companies from various countries, including China, were reportedly vying for contracts to execute the HSR project but now these efforts may be wasted due to "the inconsistency and capriciousness of Kuala Lumpur".

When Najib Abdul Razak was the prime minister, he had said that the deal between Malaysia and Singapore to build the HSR was a long-term plan, but just a few years later, the project has been cancelled.

"Is this the way Malaysia keeps its promises and adheres to the spirit of the contract?

"Chinese people and companies doing business in Malaysia reflect market-driven commercial behaviour in line with international practices.

"Chinese-funded projects are not a gift that Kuala Lumpur can refuse without compensation.

"If Malaysia's new government fails to adhere to the spirit for the contract, it has to pay the price for its error," Hu said.

While Malaysia's infrastructure is comparable to the rest of Southeast Asia, she said there is still a big infrastructure gap in the country.

This is why Malaysia cannot afford to lose investment for foreign infrastructure businesses, Hu argued.

"Malaysia is not the only investment destination for foreign infrastructure businesses.

"It is very easy for Chinese companies to shift their focus to other countries, but Malaysia's economy is the one that will suffer big losses," the article goes on to state.

Hu said the first impression of Malaysia's new government's economic policies is "uncertainty", though she conceded that it was still too early to pass a final assessment.

However, she said that uncertain economic policies driven by political factors are one of the reasons why some developing countries have failed to achieve economic development, noting that she hopes Malaysia's new government does not make this mistake.

"We believe Malaysia will handle the problem properly.

"Sino-Malaysia friendship is time-tested. Malaysia is a key point along the routes of the Belt and Road initiative.

"Chinese investors will continue to look closely at Malaysia's economic situation in search of opportunities for cooperation," the article says.

Mahathir and other Pakatan Harapan leaders have consistently criticised the mega-development projects initiated under Najib's administration, especially those involving foreign direct investment from China.

Since becoming prime minister, Mahathir has cancelled the HSR project and reaffirmed Harapan’s commitment to review these mega-development projects from China.