Malaysians are split on whether the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR should be revived

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

After meeting with his Malaysian counterpart Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Monday (Nov 29), Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong urged reviving discussions on the stalled Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project.

Mr. Ismail Sabri is on his first official visit to Singapore, which coincides with the opening of the new transit lanes between the two nations.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak met Mr Lee in the Istana and was treated to an official lunch.

 

"The prime minister and I also talked about the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High-Speed Rail, and the prime minister advised resuming those conversations," Mr Lee added.

"I informed the Prime Minister that Singapore and Malaysia had earlier agreed to terminate the HSR projects, and that the matter had been resolved amicably.
Singapore, on the other hand, is open to new proposals from Malaysia for the HSR project."

 

After the agreement expires on December 31, 2020, the HSR project, which promised to reduce travel time between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to around 90 minutes, was cancelled.

After then-Malaysia Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad told reporters in September 2018 that he had reviewed Malaysia's financial position and how the project would not help the country, the two sides agreed to postpone construction of the HSR until end-May 2020.

Malaysia later requested a seven-month delay to allow both parties to debate and evaluate Malaysia's proposed project adjustments.

 

The deal dissolved as both parties were unable to agree on new terms, notably Malaysia's proposal to remove an assets business that would run the railway.
For the cancelled project, Malaysia paid Singapore more than S$102 million in compensation.

Mr Lee said on Monday that both countries' transportation ministries will meet to address the issue, and that Singapore is looking forward to receiving additional data from Malaysia "so that we can review them and consider the situation again, beginning from a clean slate."

Mr Lee stated that he discussed additional areas of cooperation with Malaysia, including as the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link, which is planned to begin passenger service by the end of 2026.

 

The conclusion of the RTS Link Grantor Agreement last week, the transport ministries of both nations stated in a joint statement, was another "important step" in the project's progress.

"This agreement builds on the Concession Agreement that was signed on July 30, 2020, when the RTS Link project was successfully restarted, and specifies the responsibilities of the two Grantors in carrying out their tasks and obligations under the Concession Agreement," the ministries said.

 

Mr Lee also stated that Singapore will continue to support the development of Iskandar Malaysia.

"Next month, the 14th Joint Committee for Iskandar Malaysia will meet, and I'm hoping they'll be able to give the project a boost."

The Joint Ministerial Committee for Iskandar Malaysia's 14th meeting, set for January 2019, has been postponed due to a maritime border dispute between the two countries.

The committee, which last met in 2017, was established in 2007 to look into how the two countries may collaborate in the Iskandar economic zone in south Johor.
The committee aims to promote both countries' tourist, transportation, and industrial relations.