MP: Will Malacca-Dumai link be another 'white elephant' project?

The Malacca government has been urged to stop making inconsistent and incomplete announcements on plans to link the state with Dumai, Indonesia.

In a statement today, Kota Melaka MP Khoo Poay Tiong (above) said the government had announced in March that the state was planning to build a 47km undersea rail link.

Yesterday, Malacca Investment, Industry, Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Committee chairperson Ab Rauf Yusoh announced that either a 120km bridge or a tunnel would be built instead.

Rauf claimed that both countries had agreed to the project in principle and relevant local government agencies were brought to Teluk Gong to view the potential project site.

"Rauf and the state government should stop making ad-hoc, inconsistent and incomplete announcements on the project. Such vague announcements are highly irresponsible.

"It creates doubt and confusion among the public and investors, and tarnishes the state government's credibility," said Khoo.

Khoo said the first order of business should be the public disclosure of a feasibility study and cost-benefit analysis of the project, if there was any, to prove its viability.

"The public and investors have reacted cynically towards the announcement of this project.

"Let's not forget that Malacca has had its fair share of white elephant and abandoned projects - such as the monorail, Pulau Melaka reclaimed island and unsustainable shopping malls," he said.

Citing an article by General Soedirman University's Ade Maman Suherman and Islamic Science University of Malaysia's Mohd Hazmi Mohd Rusli published last year, Khoo said both experts had warned the project would cause environmental damage and pose navigational hazards in the Malacca Straits.

The experts also claimed the project would cost over RM52 billion.

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