Dr M: Saddled with heavy debt, ECRL will 'impoverish' us
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the East Coast Railway Link (ECRL) project will impoverish the nation.
"We are already burdened with a heavy debt, so we cannot pay. It is not because we do not want to honour the contract," he said...
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the East Coast Railway Link (ECRL) project will impoverish the nation.
“We are already burdened with a heavy debt, so we cannot pay. It is not because we do not want to honour the contract.
“This contract will cost us more than RM100 billion. It will impoverish us,” he added.
Earlier, Mahathir officiated the National Anti-Corruption Plan 2019-2023 at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre.
He said paying the compensation would not be as huge as the amount of debt the country would need to bear if it proceeded with the contract.
"We seek understanding of the parties concerned that it is not because we want to frustrate or throw out the contract, but because we are really tight in terms of finance.
"We just cannot pay. We have to cut back on some of the expenditure incurred by the previous government," Mahathir said at a press conference.
He said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng would provide a clearer picture of the status of the project soon.
Read more: Guan Eng: PM told me not to make statements on ECRL for now
Last Saturday, Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali had said that the cabinet had decided to terminate the ECRL project, adding that this was decided upon in a cabinet meeting two days prior.
Lim later said that he was shocked with Azmin's statement and that the latter might not have been informed of certain matters decided on the project by the prime minister.
He subsequently explained that he was shocked by the timing of Azmin's statement, and not by its content.
Asked to comment on this, Mahathir admitted that some mistakes have been made in relation to the announcement.
"Sometimes, some ministers give a statement before it is due," the prime minister added.
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PM: Both Azmin and Guan Eng were right on ECRL
When discussing China-funded projects in Malaysia, don't bring up Sri Lanka into the discussion if you know nothing about the situation in that country. Why blame China for the public debt situation in Sri Lanka when it holds only a fraction of that country's foreign debt? According to a report in Nikkie Asian Review, Sri Lanka's accumulated foreign debt is estimated at US$55 billion, "Chinese lenders hold 10% of this total, Japan accounts for 12%, the Asian Development Bank 14% and the World Bank 11%." (https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Belt-and-Road/Sri-Lanka-sinks-deeper-into-China-s-grasp-as-debt-woes-spiral) Also read "Claim that Sri Lanka was in a ‘Debt Trap’ in 2014 due to ‘Chinese Loans’ – a response" by Ajith Nivard Cabraal, former Governor of Central Bank of Sri Lanka (http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=191228)
Totally agree with Tun on this ECRL project to limit farther damage to our recovery. China contracts will not only tie us to DEBT but also political subservience. There are other ways to facilitate better transport on the East Coast.
ECRL is nothing more than an overpriced and overs-specified technology in the wrong part of the country awarded to some political cronies. Burdened with a heavy debt is hardly a good reason to dishonour the ECRL contract. ECRL's feasibility should be objectively and critically reviewed along with its cost benefits to ensure the returns on investment are economically viable and justifiable.
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