PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has denied he had pre-empted the Cabinet when he announced the cancellation of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project.
He said the issue was part of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) manifesto and was used in the recent election campaign.
“No. That was decided by the party from the very beginning. We campaigned on that issue and I’m not going to go away from the decision of the party simply because I can’t form a Cabinet soon enough,” he said after chairing a meeting with PH top leaders.
On May 28, Mahathir confirmed that Malaysia would scrap the project and would most likely have to pay compensation of up to RM500 million to Singapore.
The HSR, stretching over 335km through four states, was to connect Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. The project was scheduled for completion in 2026.