YOURSAY | ‘The future generation will be paying for decades to service this project…’
Not too late to derail ‘1MDB-bailout’ ECRL: Economist
Brave Malaysian: Thanks Khazanah Research Institute senior adviser Jomo Kwame Sundaram for speaking out bravely and sincerely.
I am sure the majority of Malaysian agree that the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) should be scrapped. We can't proceed with a scam and a fraud created by former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and his cronies.
The future generation will be paying for decades to service this project, which will - when completed - be economically unviable. That would mean perpetual bleeding from this silly project.
Scrap it! If Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is not brave enough to do it, then he should step down and let someone else who can do that.
Salvage Malaysia: Jomo, do you think when Daim Zainuddin, the chief negotiator with China, went to renegotiate ECRL, both sides didn’t know the fishy issues behind it?
How else you think Malaysia got some concessions? To go back again to renegotiate it, you really have no idea how the Chinese think.
When China agrees to give you an inch of face saving, don't go back to ask for a yard. You try that and see how the China leadership will treat Malaysia after that.
Apasai: Daim is in it. Mahathir endorsed it. Transport Minister Anthony Loke executed it. Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng blessed it. Najib collected the upfront fee. All these politicians are complicit.
It will take some 80 years to repay this debt provided our exchange rate is US$1 to RM4 remains. If it goes to RM4.50, then it will take 112 years for us to repay China.
By then, China would have taken Pahang and Terengganu as extended states of the Middle Kingdom.
Redmann: Listen to this economist as he tells it straight. Politicians have to listen to professionals when they are bored listening to themselves.
If Malaysia rescinds and cancels the entire project, we will have RM44 billion in our coffers.
China may not sue, but it could deliver a telling blow to our exports. Our new government leaders may not relish the prospect of missing out on the kickbacks when rescission is done and dusted.
Cogito Ergo Sum: Indeed, if the ECRL project is implemented, generations to come will be paying off the debt incurred.
Why are we borrowing from the future generations to pay for a project that will not benefit or profit anyone? You cannot pawn off our children's future like Najib did.
We voted you in to save our future generations. Do not give room for further speculation as to the real intention of doing an undoable project.
Ocean Master: A compelling decision shall be based on a court ruling, rather than a witness’ disclosure alone that the ECRL and other projects are meant to bail out 1MDB.
The double-track ECRL network is a part of an end-to-end logistics and supply chain system solution, both for domestic and international cargo.
It has the capacity to transport cargo to and from both ends and extend into ports. The in-between stops allow for hub-and-spokes logistics efficiency. The freight earnings here can subsidise passenger traffic and repay debts faster.
With an efficient railway system, the redistribution of population density is possible and development of smaller towns and cities are promising. Done well, economically, it has a potential for long-term returns.
I am in no way condoning what was done by the previous administration and justice must be carried out.
I am not in any position to contest the capacity of the learned economist but a very pragmatic approach beyond the current quagmire shall still be put on the table.
Once justice is done, it is an opportunity to recoup the sunken costs and perhaps a good negotiation team would able to further reduce its capital expenditure. I call it survival of the fittest.
Prudent: The pros and cons of the revised ECRL project have been debated extensively in P Guansegaram's column in Malaysiakini.
Rail projects - especially in rural but important areas - are not just about the direct financial viability of the project itself but about the long-term economic development of the areas served by it. And more importantly, it is about the government’s commitment to develop those areas.
The failed development of the east coast of Malaya is not for want of trying. The British built a railway connecting Kota Bharu in Kelantan to Gemas in Johor. But that's about it.
To date, aside from the ECRL, there have been no viable ideas as to how to bring the east coast to develop with the rest of the peninsula, and stop it becoming a cesspool of underdevelopment and the resulting radicalisation.
The ECRL promises to connect with China's Belt and Road Initiative, specifically with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area - an area whose economy will rival Japan's in a few years' time.
The ECRL will give China an alternative to Singapore for access to the Straits of Malacca to transport its goods. This would be rivalled by the proposed Kra Canal, if it is ever built. And even if built, it would be at least 20 years in the future.
So, ECRL offers a good chance to kick start the development of the east coast.
To put it in a nutshell, if the ECRL is cancelled, it will be read as the Pakatan Harapan government writing off the medium to long-term development of the east coast states of Kelantan, Terengganu, and Pahang, instead of underwriting their medium-to-long-term development.
This will likely result in the Harapan government not winning any of the said east coast states in the 15th general election.
The east coast states would as a result likely remain as destabilising cesspools of underdevelopment for the whole of Malaysia for at least another generation.
Anonymous_1539379806: Just take a look at how much under-utilised the East Coast Highway is, and you’ll get a sense of future ECRL utilisation.
Jomo is a very reputable economist who deserves to be heard by the government.
Clever Voter: While the ECRL is a necessary infrastructure support to support the economic and social development especially in the eastern part of the peninsula, the inflated price is beyond the means of this country.
Jomo is right we should scrap the project. Even it is for social agenda, the cost is too much for the small population. The most plausible reason is none other than political reason or simply foolishness.
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