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Tag: high speed rail

  • Malaysian Opposition Will Scrap High Speed Rail Project If Elected

    Malaysian Opposition Will Scrap High Speed Rail Project If Elected

    Malaysia’s opposition alliance said yesterday it will scrap a planned High Speed Rail (HSR) line between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur if it won federal power, and replace it with a railway connecting two key cities in East Malaysia – Tawau in Sabah and Kuching in Sarawak.

    The proposal to ditch the HSR project and pump the estimated RM35 billion (S$11 billion) saved into East Malaysia was presented by Pakatan Harapan (PH) on the sidelines of a Parliament session, ahead of Prime Minister Najib Razak’s tabling of the 2016 Budget tomorrow.

    The opposition claimed the HSR line would largely benefit only those working in and around Kuala Lumpur and in Singapore, and that the project is unnecessary at this point because Kuala Lumpur and Singapore are already served by excellent air and road links.

    Selangor MP Ong Kian Ming, a member of PH’s Budget drafting committee, argued that the HSR would likely cost more than a rail network linking Sabah and Sarawak, and would significantly add to Malaysia’s debt levels if both were to be built together.

    “HSR is not as important given that there are many cheaper and affordable options to travel between Malaysia and Singapore. The multiplier effects would be lower compared to a new railway network in East Malaysia and hence, the preference for the second cheaper and more necessary rail project,” he told The Straits Times.

    Sabah and Sarawak have long been stronghold states of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. With Sarawak state polls to be called by next year, the move by the opposition is seen as a concerted play for East Malaysian votes. National elections are due in 2018.

    Democratic Action Party chairman Tan Kok Wai said the new railway and other financial benefits to be allocated to Sabah and Sarawak in the opposition’s “alternative Budget”, are meant to develop the two states “long neglected” by BN.

    The HSR plan has gained traction, with about 150 firms responding to Malaysia’s Land Public Transport Commission and Singapore’s Land Transport Authority’s Request For Information exercise this month.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Malaysia’s Transport Agency Says CEO Misquoted On High-Speed Rail

    Malaysia’s Transport Agency Says CEO Misquoted On High-Speed Rail

    The Malaysian transport agency said that it was misquoted in media reports that it wanted the proposed high-speed railway to end in Johor Baru rather than in Jurong East in Singapore.

    Instead, it actually prefers to have the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur line end in Singapore’s central business district, said Malaysia’s Land Public Transport Commision (SPAD) chief executive Mohamad Nur Ismal Kamal in a press release late last night.

    Earlier on Friday, Singapore’s Transport Ministry had issued a strongly worded statement to say that it was surprised that the SPAD had stated in media reports that it wanted the HSR to end in Johor rather than in Singapore.

    Mr Mohamad Nur had said in a The Edge Malaysia on Monday that “we would prefer to terminate the line at the existing CIQ (customs, immigration and quarantine) complex. However, Singapore wants it to terminate in Jurong East and understandably so.”

    The MOT said that terminating the HSR in Johor would undermine the objectives of the link.

    “Our understanding is that Malaysia views the commercial premise of the KL-Singapore HSR project, and with which we agree, as being based on a direct connection between the two city centres.

    “Terminating the HSR in Johor Baru will not achieve this objective,” it said.

    In a statement released in response to media queries, MOT reiterated that last year, Malaysia had chosen its terminus to be in Bandar Malaysia.

    But late on Friday, the SPAD chief said that he was “regrettably misquoted” in the report.

    “We would have preferred to terminate the line at the CBD area. This will be closer to Orchard Road than Jurong East. However this is a joint project for the benefit of both countries and hence there has to be give and take,” he said.

    Last month, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak announced that Singapore’s terminus would be in Jurong East after their annual retreat.

    MOT said both countries are also in discussions over the HSR’s commercial and operating models.

    Singapore has proposed that the domestic transit HSR service, which will stop at the six stations in between Singapore and KL, be operated separately from the express non-stop HSR services between KL and Singapore, MOT said. This will give Malaysia autonomy over the domestic transit services to serve its domestic needs, it added.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Malaysia High Commissioner To Singapore: Bilateral Relations Is Special And Substantive – Part I

    Malaysia High Commissioner To Singapore: Bilateral Relations Is Special And Substantive – Part I

    As Singapore celebrates its 50th birthday this year, TODAY is running a monthly series of interviews with the ambassadors of several countries that play a key role in Singapore’s foreign relations. This month, reporter Celene Tan ([email protected]) speaks with Malaysian High Commissioner Husni Zai Yaacob, who has served in Singapore since August 2013. Mr Husni tells us about Malaysia and Singapore’s substantive political, economic and social ties; ongoing projects and cooperation between the two neighbours; and domestic and regional issues on religion, terrorism and the South China Sea. The interview has been edited for space considerations.

    In a nutshell, what is your take on Malaysian-Singapore relations? What areas can both countries cooperate on, going forward?

    I can describe the relationship as special and substantive.

    Special because we have a lot of history; we have shared history for a long, long time, before our independence. Special because this year we’ll be celebrating the 50th anniversary of our diplomatic relations. Special because of all the people-to-people links. We have relatives in both countries. We have similar culture, shared religion, shared culture. There are many features special about our relationship.

    Substantive in terms of our economic cooperation. In terms of trade, for instance, Singapore is Malaysia’s second-biggest trading partner. Similarly, Malaysia is Singapore’s second-biggest trading partner for a long time. In terms of investments, last year, Singapore was the second-biggest foreign investor in Malaysia. In terms of tourism, it is very clear, more than 50 per cent of foreign tourists visiting Malaysia are from Singapore. So, (it is a) very substantive relationship between our two countries.

    We have an excellent relationship on the political level. Our two prime ministers have a very good rapport; they enjoy a very good relationship. In fact, they have been meeting regularly. Your PM Lee was in Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi only a few days ago (for the Association of South-east Asian Nations, or ASEAN, Summit). Our PM was here to pay respects during the funeral of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew. Our King, the Agong, was also here to attend the state funeral service recently.

    We also have close cooperation at the regional level, for instance, in ASEAN, and also at the international level. We are also cooperating in non-traditional areas such as security and defence. The relationship will be further enhanced in the future, because I believe it is a win-win situation for both countries.

    The Prime Ministers of both Singapore and Malaysia will meet next week for a retreat. What is on the agenda and what are some concrete outcomes that we can expect?

    The two PMs will be meeting at the sixth leaders’ retreat. They met last year in Kuala Lumpur. So when they meet again, next weekend, they will review the progress of what they have discussed last year and will be updated on the developments.

    I think high on the agenda will be on the improved connectivity (between) the countries. There are several projects, namely the High-Speed Rail and the Rapid Transit System — the RTS. I think these two projects are very important to both countries and the two leaders are very committed to seeing the implementation of these two projects as soon as possible.

    Besides the two big projects, or what we call the game-changers, they will also be discussing the measures to ease congestion at the two checkpoints. Through the immigration workshop, both sides have agreed to take a number of measures to reduce the congestion. This will be announced during the retreat. One option to ease congestion (that) Malaysia is also looking at (is) having a new bridge connecting the two countries.

    The retreat also will discuss ways on how to further strengthen our economic cooperation. As I mentioned just now, we have a very substantive relationship, but we want to further enhance our economic cooperation. So through this joint ministerial committee on Iskandar, there are various sub-committees to discuss how we could further strengthen … synergistic investment cooperation between Malaysia and Singapore.

    As I mentioned just now, security cooperation will also feature in the leaders’ retreat, especially the threat of Islamic State to the region. And I think the two leaders will spend some time discussing this very important issue.

    We expect also some Memorandums of Understanding to be signed, most likely one on the cooperation in developing urban search-and-rescue capabilities. This MOU aims to further strengthen our cooperation in terms of training, techniques and sharing of information pertaining to search and rescue, and also disaster management.

    The other issue is also to discuss ways to deepen our social and cultural ties. As I’ve said, we have very strong cultural and social ties, but we want to strengthen it further. So there are various exchanges of artwork, exchanges of animals for instance, between the two zoos, Zoo Negara and Singapore Zoo.

    Besides bilateral issues, the two are also expected to discuss other regional matters such as ASEAN, issues of interest such as the Middle East and other issues of common concern.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • High-Speed Rail Link Between Singapore and Malaysia to Miss 2020 Deadline

    High-Speed Rail Link Between Singapore and Malaysia to Miss 2020 Deadline

    SINGAPORE’S Ministry of Transport said on Wednesday it has not been informed by Malaysian authorities that the upcoming high-speed rail link project between the two countries will bust the 2020 deadline.

    Mr Syed Hamid Albar, chairman of Malaysia’s Land Public Transport Commission, said in an interview on Tuesday that the deadline will be missed even after using government land as much as possible to avoid property-acquisition disputes.

    The project may take six to seven years to complete once construction starts by 2016, Mr Syed Hamid told Bloomberg.

    This would effectively mean that the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur high-speed rail link may not be able to meet the 2020 deadline.

    Source: www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/south-east-asia