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Najib wants RCI on ECRL, SSER pipelines
Published:  Aug 23, 2018 6:02 PM
Updated: 10:39 AM

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak has called on the government to initiate a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into three China-linked projects approved during his administration.

The projects he wants an RCI on are the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), and the two Strategic Energy Resources (SSER) pipeline projects.

"I urge the government to hold an RCI on these three projects to determine if there is wrongdoing," Najib said in a Facebook post.

He also called on the government to reveal all agreements, feasibility studies, economic impact assessments and cost-benefit analysis to allow the public to determine if it is best for Putrajaya to proceed or scrap these projects.

"The people deserve to know if there are reasonable and solid reasons to cancel the projects and was not made out of anger towards the past BN government or China which has refused to bow to Pakatan Harapan's demands," he added.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had told Malaysiakini today that a decision had yet to be made whether to cancel the three projects, but that it was his preference.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has said that the ECRL's final cost is RM81 billion, far higher than the RM55 billion estimate issued by the Najib administration.

Lim said this would have to be reduced significantly in order to be financially viable.

Meanwhile, there are also allegations that funds meant for the SSER projects had been laundered to pay off 1MDB debts. Contractor China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPP) has denied the allegations.

Najib in his posting, declined to comment on Mahathir's remarks on his 'historic stupidity' regarding the China projects.

However, he said the projects have exit clauses unlike independent power plant and toll agreements signed during Mahathir's first tenure as prime minister.

Najib's call for an RCI was made in a lengthy Facebook post to debunk alleged misconceptions regarding the three projects.

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