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PETALING JAYA: Umno Youth is disappointed by the decision to terminate the High Speed Rail (HSR) link connecting Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
“The cancellation of a high-impact infrastructure project that has a multiplier effect is a backward and ‘counterproductive’ step in efforts to reactivate the post-Covid-19 economy.
“The action of the Malaysian government is a big mistake at first because it goes against the current trend of economic development observed in neighboring countries,” said Umno Youth Chief Datuk Dr. Asyraf Wajdi DusukiPhoto) said in a Facebook post on Saturday (January 2).
He said the country would lose an estimated RM209bil in gross national income (GNI) and a potential 70,000 lost jobs.
Dr. Asyraf added that the cancellation of the ISS would affect the grand vision of transforming the country to become a high-income nation that would have been enjoyed with the opening of new development clusters along the ISS line.
He said the HSR was a key benchmark for progress and development in Asean, and if implemented, it would have been the first high-speed rail link to cross borders in the region.
“Umno Youth wants the government to give stronger reasons than the simple Covid-19 excuse,” he said, adding that they wanted the government to clear up the news that the project will be replaced by another HSR project ending in Johor Baru with the same cost.
On Friday (January 1), both Malaysia and Singapore announced the completion of the project after they were unable to agree to the changes proposed by Malaysia.
The HSR was expected to be operational by 2026 and was expected to reduce the travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to just 90 minutes.
The HSR line was to be extended 350km, with 335km in Malaysia and 15km in Singapore.
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