MOT refutes M'sian minister's claim that he met S'pore officials on Sunday to discuss HSR project

SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Transport (MOT) has refuted Malaysian economic affairs minister Mohamed Azmin Ali’s claim that he met with “senior officials from Singapore” over the weekend to discuss the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high speed rail (HSR) project. 

On Monday (Aug 6), Mr Azmin said he had met Singapore authorities while he was in the Republic on Sunday visiting Malaysia’s Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is currently in hospital here, recuperating from surgery to remove a pancreatic tumour. 

Mr Azmin did not reveal who the Singaporean officials he spoke to were, but according to Malaysia's national news agency Bernama, he said: "The meeting went in a  positive manner.”

He added: "The official meeting will take place sometime in August."

However, a spokesperson from MOT said no meeting has been scheduled, nor has taken place between Mr Azmin and Singapore officials overseeing the HSR Project.

“As of 6 August 2018, the Malaysian Government has not provided the clarifications sought by Singapore and has not communicated their proposed dates for such discussions,” the spokesperson added.

The HSR project, first proposed by Malaysia in 2013, is a 350km line that would have slashed rail travel time between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to 90 minutes.

But its fate has been uncertain since the new Pakatan Harapan government won the May 9 election, with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and some of his cabinet ministers vowing to scrap the project in order to trim Putrajaya’s RM1 trillion (S$336 billion) debt.

Singapore’s transport minister Khaw Boon Wan said the Republic had sent a diplomatic note to Malaysia on June 1 seeking clarification on its position on the HSR project.

Singapore's Ministry of Transport had also asked Putrajaya to clarify its official position in writing by July 31 and to indicate, also by that date, if it still wished to hold bilateral talks on the strained project. 

Meanwhile, Singapore continues to incur cost on the project, with expenditure expected to hit some S$300 million by year-end, Mr Khaw told Parliament on July 9, warning that a “significant” amount of the funds spent would be “completely wasted” if the project was called off.  AGENCIES, ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JANICE LIM