The Singapore government had received a letter dated July 23 from Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali, stating that the government was studying the details of the HSR project and would commence discussions with Singapore soon.
The MOT said the Singapore government asked its Malaysian counterpart on June 1 to provide a written response to clarify its position on the project.
It also said if the Malaysian government wished to meet to discuss the project, discussions should take place by July 31.
“As of Aug 1, Malaysia has not proposed a meeting date,” the MOT said in a statement last night.
Azmin had reportedly said that the meeting would likely take place in July.
Meanwhile, on the Rapid Transit System (RTS) project, the MOT said it had not received any official response from Malaysia on the formation of a joint venture company to be the RTS link operator. It said it was looking forward to receiving a response soon.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke recently said that a joint venture company would be set up to ensure the smooth implementation of the project upon approval by the Cabinet.
He said a working paper on the project with detailed information would be presented to the Cabinet for approval although the government had agreed in principle to the implementation of the RTS project.
The MOT said the Singaporean government was happy that Malaysia remained committed to the Johor Bahru-Singapore RTS Link project.
“Singapore remains committed to working closely with Malaysia to ensure the smooth implementation of the RTS Link project,” it added.
In July, it was reported that Singapore’s rail operator, SMRT Corporation Ltd and Malaysia’s national rail operator, Prasarana Malaysia, had missed the June 30 deadline to form a joint venture company to operate the link.
Working paper on JB-Singapore rail project to be tabled to Cabinet