China should not be involved in managing ECRL, says Najib

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak today took aim at the renegotiated East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) deal, in particular the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) forming a joint venture with Malaysia Rail Link (MRL) for operations and maintenance.

"The suggestion for the Chinese side to be involved in the management of the ECRL is not reasonable, because this is a form of domestic transportation in our country. 

"Malaysian citizens have the capability to handle the entire railway system, and that is why we have trained our workers before this," he said.

Najib was speaking to reporters outside the Kuala Lumpur High Court after attending today’s proceedings in relation to the SRC International Sdn Bhd corruption trial.

One of the key points in the renegotiated deal is that CCCC forming a joint venture with MRL to operate and maintain the ECRL. The joint venture also means that the Beijing-owned company will bear 50 percent of the risk should the project run into trouble.

'National security risk'

Najib said this stipulation could affect national security, because “national secrets would be made known to outsiders.”

Instead, he suggested, the main contractor should be from Malaysia, with CCCC providing technical advice.

While Najib welcomed the government’s decision to continue with the ECRL, he noted that the reduced construction cost of RM44 billion only involved cutting down the number of stations and eliminating the construction of the tunnel across the Titiwangsa Range.

He added that the new alignment would mean a trip between Kuala Lumpur and Kota Bharu would take too long, and would rob the ECRL of a key advantage.

“The new alignment avoiding Bentong and the Titiwangsa Range means that the goal of four-hour travel time from Kota Bharu to Kuala Lumpur cannot be achieved because passengers would have to use a hub station in Putrajaya.

“In addition, the route that heads south and then back north would add one or two stops. 

"That means that if a car trip takes seven hours, (and a trip via ECRL) takes about as long, there is no advantage in using the ECRL,” he said.

'No bailout'

Najib added that the revised price tag showed that claims about the ECRL actually costing RM29 billion, and that the remaining RM26 billion from the original valuation earmarked to bail out 1MDB were untrue.

Last Friday, it was announced that the government would continue with the ECRL project at a reduced cost of RM44 billion.

The project was initially estimated by the previous BN government to cost RM55 billion.

Soon after Pakatan Harapan assumed federal power, however, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng indicated that the project could cost up to RM81 billion. 

ECRL an exception, open tender for future projects – deputy minister

DOE has not received EIA report on new ECRL alignment

We were guided by people's wishes in renegotiating ECRL, says Azmin

ECRL salient points: RM1b refund, more locals and CCCC to share risk