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PETALING JAYA: Former Prime Minister Najib Razak has criticized Dr. Mahathir Mohamad for saying that the proposed high-speed rail link to Singapore would save only a small amount of travel time.
In a Facebook post tonight, Najib said: “Save 15 minutes compared to what? Private jet? Or the national flying car?
He said that the example given by Mahathir was that of a person who was not used to traveling by car from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, or someone who was not aware of the congestion on the Causeway.
“Ask those who live in Muar or Batu Pahat about the time saved (30 minutes),” Najib said. “Or the ones from Melaka (40 minutes)”.
Mahathir had told a press conference today that the high-speed rail project, now canceled by the government, was not important and could be delayed for 10 to 20 years.
He said the distance traveled was only 230 km and the time saved was about 50 minutes. “Worse still, the cost of building this HSR has risen to almost RM80 billion. We will never get our money back, ”said the former prime minister.
The HSR project was one of the mega-projects started by the Najib government.
Najib said, however, that the HSR would be a step towards achieving an integrated Asean network, connecting two of the most important cities in the region. “The HSR is also important because it would also mean that Malaysia would finally be part of a high-speed rail network in Asia,” he said.
Arguing that it would also make travel more convenient for the average citizen, he said the HSR could also encourage tourism and economic activities, as well as attract foreign investment and create 110,000 jobs.
He added that the railway project would also contribute more than RM6 billion in profits for the country each year.
