Lim Teck Ghee was referring to the High-Speed Rail which will run from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore and the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) from Port Klang on the west coast of the peninsula to the east coast.
“There is KTM as well as passenger and cargo flights to transport people from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. We also have a good highway system.
“So, the infrastructure is there,” Lim said, adding that the existing ports, road and air transport were sufficient to ferry goods and passengers.
“It is too costly. It is not like a new opening route or a new communication route. The present road and ports are also not fully utilised.”
He agreed that the ECRL will cut travelling time, but said that with the cost being at least RM55 billion, the cons easily outweighed the pros, which included a shorter travelling time.
Lim, who was previously based in Washington DC as a World Bank senior social scientist, urged the government to compare similar rail projects that had already been completed, known as “reference-class forecasting.”
He said this process forced decision-makers to consider cases that did not necessarily justify the preferred course of action.
“Both the ECRL and HSR projects should have been exposed to comparisons with similar projects elsewhere in the world as well as a critical independent examination of the pros and cons,” said Lim, who is the chief executive officer of the Centre for Policy Initiatives.
He called for a review of all mega projects involving huge public funds, saying it should take place across the board as part of a standard practice.
“This should be accompanied by full disclosure of the project’s relevant information and a greater consideration for public scrutiny and feedback.”
On Thursday, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced that Pakatan Harapan (PH) would review all mega projects in Malaysia, should it wrest control of Putrajaya in the next general election (GE14). The PH chairman was speaking at a forum on Chinese investments in Malaysia.
The mega projects included the RM55 billion ECRL and the KL-Singapore HSR project, which is expected to cost over RM60 billion.
Mahathir had said many Chinese projects in the country were “wasteful” and a PH government might need to cancel some and pay compensation rather than continue with the projects and incur debts.
The ECRL will create a 250km land bridge which could undercut the Melaka Straits trade route by bypassing Singapore, while the 350km HSR will cut travel time between KL and Singapore to just 90 minutes.