KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia is expected to receive the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail compensation claim from Singapore in the next few weeks – however, its amount will still need to be verified and agreed upon between the two countries.
MyHSR Corporation Sdn Bhd (MyHSR Corp) chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Nur Ismal Mohamed Kamal said Malaysia is still waiting for Singapore to submit its claim.
“Once it is submitted, we will do our due diligence to ensure that the claim is reasonable and can be verified,” he told a media briefing here today.
Earlier this week, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said Malaysia holds the view that the amount of compensation needed to be paid to Singapore for the termination of the HSR project is much lower than S$270 million (RM820.76 million) incurred by Singapore.
Nur Ismal reiterated that the compensation is not a fine, but to reimburse Singapore what they had spent but could not reuse.
He said thus far, the government has not committed or decided on any project, including the widely-speculated KL-Johor Baru line, to replace the KL-Singapore HSR project.
“We need to have a thorough study on whatever project will replace this KL-Singapore HSR project, which is viable on its own,” he said.
He added that the study is expected to start soon, and that he hoped it would be concluded within six months.
“But it depends on how much work needs to be done,” he said.
Asked on the possibility of Malaysia and Singapore having another similar HSR project in the future, MyHSR Corp chairman Tan Sri Esa Mohamed said Malaysia will continue to look at options to enhance HSR connectivity.
“The current chapter is closed, so if there is any future project, it will be under a new agreement,” said Esa.
On January 1, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong announced in a joint statement that the 350km HSR project had been terminated, as both countries failed to reach an agreement on changes proposed by Malaysia before the project agreement lapsed on December 31, 2020.
Singapore’s Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung was reported as saying that the removal of the assets company (AssetsCo) as the systems supplier and network operator of the project was Singapore’s main concern in discussions over the proposed changes by Malaysia.
On the other hand, Mustapa was reported as saying earlier that the government would be able to save up to RM60 billion in government guarantees over a period of 30 years by not using the services of AssetsCo.
MyHSR Corp is a company incorporated in 2015, wholly owned by Minister of Finance Incorporated.
As the government’s project delivery vehicle for the KL-Singapore HSR project, MyHSR Corp was responsible for the development and implementation of the project. – Bernama, January 8, 2021
