Political economist Hoo Ke Ping said Malaysia should not undertake the project if it would have difficulty paying for it.
He said the pros and cons of the project had not been made public and properly debated before being approved by the previous government under Najib Razak.
He added that Mahathir was doing the right thing as Malaysia could not afford to incur more debts which could potentially become “time bombs” for the country.
“If Malaysia can’t pay, then it shouldn’t carry on with this project,” he told FMT.
He said while there were tourists and a small number of Malaysians travelling between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, the price of the project was too hefty.
“If it is cheap, then it is okay but we are talking about RM100 billion. The amount is too high.”
Meanwhile, economist Yeah Kim Leng of Sunway University said the HSR project could be revived when the country was in a stronger financial position.
He said the new government’s current priority to reduce the nation’s debts was more important than going ahead with the project.
“After knowing the full extent of the government’s total debts, it is prudent to call off the HSR and other mega projects,” he told FMT.
Mahathir confirmed on Monday that the project would be scrapped, saying it would not benefit Malaysia and “will not earn us a single sen”.
He said the HSR was one of several projects the government would need to do away with to improve its financial state.
Singapore’s transport ministry had said on Monday that its government had not received any official notification from Malaysia on scrapping the HSR.