MCA's Ti lauds Putrajaya's continuation of ECRL

KUALA LUMPUR (June 24): The federal government’s move to continue with the building of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) albeit at a lower cost is a move in the right direction, MCA publicity spokesman and Religious Harmony Bureau chairman Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker said.

“Putting politics aside, this is a good move as the ECRL brings many benefits to the East Coast states and was studied since the 1980s.

“It also shows that the government is listening to the people and has the people’s interests at heart beyond politics,” Bernama reported him saying today.

Ti said the ECRL is a necessity owing to congestion on the roads and the rail system will be a catalyst for the East Coast’s economic development.

“It is a project approved after much groundwork, consultation and expert input. Stopping it will be a waste and an injustice to the people of the East Coast states.

“If the government thinks the cost is too high or if the terms of the ECRL deal were unusual, then the right step to take is to renegotiate the price and terms. The project is too important to the people of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang,” he told Bernama.

Ti also added that if there are allegations of corruption in the project, "then the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) should step in".

“Give MACC the authority to investigate this thoroughly so that all parties are satisfied. The ECRL also does not need the taint of corruption."

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng recently revealed that the ECRL will have to proceed given the cost already poured into mega project.

“In the ECRL, we have already paid RM20 billion. So it doesn’t really make sense to just scrap it because we’ve already paid RM20 billion,” The Malaysian Insight reported Lim as saying.

However, Lim also said the government wants to renegotiate so that the cost of the ECRL can be reduced.

“It’s one of the projects were are looking to renegotiate.”

The finance minister however did reveal details on how much the government wants the price of the ECRL to be reduced to.“Let us discuss this first. We cannot have these discussions in public. The negotiations have to be done behind closed doors,” Lim said

Ti said re-negotiating of contracts is a common thing.

“Similarly, if the construction of the house was too high or if the contractor’s terms were not agreeable to the house owner, do you stop construction and tear down the house or do you re-negotiate towards a variation order?

“If there is a problem, the government should solve it instead of taking the easy way out to cancel the project and in the process, pay a huge penalty and take away the economic opportunities which the East Coast population can derive from the project,” Ti told Bernama.