The long-delayed High Speed Rail (HSR) project will proceed, albeit without Singapore in the picture, according to a source quoted by The Malaysian Insight. Malaysia will be paying the city-state RM300 million in compensation, the report said.
In June, trade and industry minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said at the time that both countries agreed to extend the deferment of the KL-Singapore HSR project to December 31, 2020, also adding at the time that both governments agreed to resume discussions on the HSR infrastructure with proposed changes.
At the time, termination of the HSR project meant Malaysia would have had to compensate Singapore for RM500 million in project implementation costs.
Two years ago, a much cheaper alternative to the HSR was mooted, and this proposed an upgrade to existing rail infrastructure instead of the HSR’s approach of building a new line from scratch. This more affordable alternative was then estimated to cost the Malaysian government RM20 billion, a far lower sum than the HSR’s estimated cost of between RM60 billion to RM70 billion.
The proposed use of KTM’s existing infrastructure would have seen a slower 130-minute journey from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, compared to the HSR’s time of 90 minutes between points, with the cheaper alternative reaching a top speed of 200 km/h instead of the HSR’s 320 km/h.
The prime minister’s office said on December 2 that Malaysian prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and his Singapore counterpart, Lee Hsien Loong had taken stock of the progress of discussions, and gained a good understanding of each country’s positions, Bernama reported.
“Muhyiddin and Lee Hsien Loong had a video conference call [on Dec 2] on the HSR project, in view of the Dec 31, 2020 deadline for the second and final extension of the suspension of the project. Both prime ministers also reaffirmed the strong bilateral relations between the two countries, covering many areas of cooperation, and the sincere desire to further strengthen these relations for mutual benefit,” the joint statement said at the time.
First signed in December 2016, the HSR was initially planned as a 350 km route comprising 335 km in Malaysia and 15 km in Singapore. This was to have comprised of eight stops – Singapore, Iskandar Puteri, Batu Pahat, Muar, Ayer Keroh, Seremban, Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur, while a bridge over the Straits of Johor would have linked the two countries.
Gov should just proceed and think far ahead. Why pay for nothing
Proceed will cost 60 mil.cancel only RM300 mil.
Proceed brings multiple economic benefits. Cancel… economy stagnant with no impetus.
You have to break some eggs to make a cake.
You need to spend to make money.
Economy cannot grow if you do not spend on innovations.
Last time we break so many eggs to make a cake. We buy that submarine but no engine…
Kapal tapi xboleh selam. But we still need to spend money.
You must think ahead if we connect with Singapore we must shared our . This cost only one off . and we Malay just enjoy the meal after that
In Norway, everyone is a millionaire, thanks to oil fund. Petronas can give us all millionaire too,
Wrong, you’re my fellow citizen. Rm500 million if to not proceed; Rm60,000 million (now revised to Rm20,000 million) if to proceed.
The agreement signed by both parties to build this HSR was estimated to RM60 to RM70 billion. FYI, 1 billion is equal to 1000 million. Hence, Malaysia one sided to terminate the contract, therefore, a RM300 million of compensation was very much reasonable cos its less than 0.5%.
can somebody clarify why exactly we need to pay compensation to Singapore when we are proceeding with the project?
shouldn’t it the other way round, Singapore to pay compensation?
Imagine those money is put into good use for investment in the education, healthcare and infrastructure for the people
This is an infrastructure project la..
RM300 million better build National facemask, PPE & handglove factory. Pay local people rm5k/month salary.
Yes agree, just take simple example, distribute 1million each to all Malaysian and that just cost about 32 mil and all Malaysian are millionaires, solve most economy issues… Hahaha…
Syukurla donation 1million…malu apo Hahaha…
32 mil? I’m teaching online maths. PM if interested.
1M for all 32M Malaysians would only cost 32M ringgit? Are you on meth? Coz your math is lit! Don’t tell me you went to SJK(C) coz that would be an insult to Dong Zhong community..
Cannot justify to pay (wild guess) RM200 ticket to get on the train. I would prefer driving there with more freedom to move around.
DUHHHHHH… HSR not meant fro peope like you.
Over 4 million people fly the KL-SG route every year. It is the busiest route in the world. And it increases every year.
HSR would be a viable alternative to the flight route as it is efficient, saves time and eco friendly.
HSR will be a game changer in the economic sector as it will connect to new CBDs in BdrM’sia and Jurong East.
Kudos! China train plz topspeed over 450 km/h
Shinkansen!
Nope. Japan FTW!!!
Pointless. KL and Spore are two huge cities unlike JB. Perks are totally different. If just to JB it is no different with ETS albeit a bit faster. Might as well scrap HSR all together.
We had a rail link right into the heart of singapore CBD. But najib gave it away to PAP. And after giving that klnd away, they came up with this HSR from jurong. Jurong is a backwater. Its not city centre. Might as well stop in jb
Tabik spring bossku najib. he saved our national assets,
Woodlands is considered CBD of S’pore? Dude where’s ur geography? Far from it, Najib gave away the KTM land so we could have a rail link into CBD. Not the other way around.
The ktm land exchange was in Tanjung pagar, prime cbd, not woodlands.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2018/12/06/najib-it-wasnt-me-who-sold-tanjung-pagar-land/
A backwater in singapore is still 20-25mins away from the City. No matter how you look at it, its still convenient. The whole point of the train is to land in Singapore. Most people in Malaysia drive/ride, most people in Singapore don’t.
Have you been to Singapore? Jurong is not CBD but definitely not a backwater. More like PJ to KL being CBD
Should just stick to old train. More enjoyable and cheaper. Stops in smaller towns too.
As much as I want to applaud the government for being forward thinking, but it still doesnt make business sense if it doesnt connect to Singapore.
Finger cross that Singapore will join from the other side in the future, otherwise the ridership will be low, and government need to bail out the HSR company with taxpayer money
If the end terminus is Johor Bahru, then no HSR project is required. The current ETS service is more than sufficient to cater domestic travel.
Only if put a heavy amount of money on rolling stock purchase to add-on frequency and service schedule , so in 24 hours of time , there will be many service running across north to south , which is significant for those who want to travel whenever they want and also festive season. I would suggest that ETS rolling stock should add-on at least double from the current asset , this will able to handle upcoming EDTP Southern Line.
Government must think of strategic trading term connecting Thai and Singapore together to enhance the tourism and business opportunities. Excluded Singapore doesn’t help anything at all. Moreover Malaysia need a proper connection on other existing line and also a transportation hub as our KL Sentral is already failed to act like the real central station. Meanwhile , focus on the station usability and design just like Japan Shinkansen design, I bet we don’t need a fancy design. Also , connection to KLIA is a bit not right , thus it killed ERL purpose of existence, perhaps Putrajaya Station link with Putrajaya Sentral with MRT2 , ERL or ECRL and others will be much correct way.
So there’s gone our RM300m for nothing to Singapore. Can afford JASA for 8 years.
If continue the project with Singapore ,Malaysia will pay 600m..
Malaysia cannot even maintain high speed checkpoint kiosk at JB. I wont be getting on a high speed train in Malaysia. Far too dangerous.
Okay this is stupid
The project firstly was meant for transportations for malaysians to singapore without vehicles with save the environment and traffic
Ikr. Lose the point for having HSR.
Tender to felda & umno #kitajagakita
This one outdated news la admin…
Why must we pay rm300 million to Singapore!! They are a richer country compared to us! And we are selling water so cheaply to them! I just don’t understand why must we always get screwed by Singapore! The person who signed the initial agreement to compensate Singapore rm500 million if the project is cancelled should have his nuts kicked!
Maybe we should get Donald Trump to negotiate with Singapore!
Get the North Korea guy to talk is better…
Go ask your PN government…… backdoor govt got no use
Watch out your dirty mouth
Blame Mahathir 2nd stint for renegading the deal and causing us to lose money. Guess who put him there.
Stupid decision by the Malaysian government as always. Ending the line in Johor defeats the original purpose of building the HSR, which was to connect it to Singapore. Guess they want to protect MAS since KL-SG route is one of their bestselling flight.
Might as well scrap the HSR. As always, very short sighted.
Contracts need to be honoured. It was signed by clever people from both sides, no? Could it be one side is the stupid one?
Yes, Malaysia like to be screwed by Singapore. Even you get Donald Trump to negotiate, Donald Trump will be screwed also. Singapore is chilli padi, Malaysia is chilli, US is no chilli.
I am sick and tired of seeing Malaysians have the false sense of entitlement. You will need to be very crazy to sign a multi billion project without compensation clause. Didnt Malaysia compensate China for ECRL? Singapore might be small but they are not push over.
Why waste so much money on this project. The ETS can provide this service.
Watch out your dirty mouth
No ETS service ka? what’s the point of HSR from KL to JB? ALready promise abang adik projek cannot u-turn dah hahaha
I think it should be built near Senai International airport..Imagine more international flights is being operated in Senai Airport..with the HSR built around the airport..it will have alot of inbound / outbound tourism traffic..Good for Johor.
Watch out your dirty mouth
Why give so much money away? Why? Singapore just prospered. What a deal!!!… If this is the outcome,the project shouldn’t be mooted in the first place…so easy just to give money away…
What’s going on, now?
Stupid decision by the Malaysian government as always. Ending the line in Johor defeats the original purpose of building the HSR, which was to connect it to Singapore. Guess they want to protect MAS since KL-SG route is one of their bestselling flight.
Might as well scrap the HSR. As always, very short sighted.
The future of Malaysia HSR without Singapore will be like KLIA and Malaysia airlines. Big plans, big idea, massive investment but poor delivery, poor management and commercially nonviable.
Just because Malaysia take Singapore out of HSR project, that doesnt mean Malaysia is going to benefit from having the whole pie because the pie has now gotten smaller become more expensive.
M’sia Gov just envy to Indon who get HSR earlier
Why should Malaysia envy Indon when the one built in Indon is free and the one we’re building is from our own pocket money?
i hope this is not political miles decision. ETS more than enough if want to connect between JB and KL.
why not the gov focus to upgrade the road or transportation system at east coast corridor? from mersing to kelantan…
As usual our country run by motives not necessity. If they were ever smart they could kill 2 bird with 1 stone.
Sad to see the people are happy with small freebies and their children have to bear the cost.
Well done.
no point of HSR if terminated at JB. totally waste of taxpayer money. incompetent government
HSR from KL to JB – 90 mins. JB to SG – 90 mins, total time KL to SG 3 hrs. Back to square one.
Singapore made easy money for half billion RM. Very good business for Singapore. Next time we can make another deal and sure Malaysia will cancel or when there are changes of PM we just wait easy money to come into our pocket
Waste of money no use if not connected to Spore . Instead use it to build low cost houses for all Malaysians who are really poor and provide free education for the deserving students
Malaysia no need, CCP please get out from Malaysia
In my humble opinion, under the circimstance, our Govt may as well build the HSR northwards from the Klang Balley to Thailand which will ultimately connect us to China, thus opening more opportunities for expanding our economy in the process. Should for whatever reason S’pore wish to be be connected to this rail network in the future, let them negotiate with us on a completely new terms & conditions.
Have we forgotten to ease the heavy-traffic on the causeway by the ever busy vehicles, passengers, source of manpower vis-a-vis and the cheap import-export commodities trasports(by train especially)…!?
For gone the old rail tracks is so fast but to rebuilt it without considering the pros&cons …!?
We’re dealing wth kiasu’s at the highest level of thinking for themselves first rather than prosper thy neighbour…?
Our raw water runs deep and CHEAPest as ever but never we see any considerable change to their greedy and kiasu’s attitude…
Come n change whomever govt took over lah.
Because Singapore already secured land in preparation for the project, and there’s all the feasibility studies and project consultants to pay for as well.
Be like taiwan. Have a HSR and normal locamotive at the same time. Flights between Taipei and Kaohsiung became dead after the commencement of the HSR…
Even in TW, HSR is not making profit and every year need to have high maintenance cost. I don’t think in Msia will be any better in making profit. It will be better if they use the money to properly plan KTM route and upgrade it. Even KTM ETS can reach about 160km/h but in fact not all the time maintain at this speed. If it can be re-design and upgrade the trail we will be more happy travelling with KTM speed 160km/h at affordable price.
THSR is different perspective, where it focus on the island compact region , hence there took like 10 years + to plan and build. MY-SG HSR is much different one , because you have to think on economy perspective, where local TOD development is not enough, you need include SG that has advantage on its currency. Frankly saying, if you build HSR but running local, price ticket high but low ridership , definitely people will say “I’ll just take ETS or car ,which is much cheaper option”. Meanwhile if you include Singapore , or probably Thailand in the future, then Malaysia can absorb some advantage of Thailand and Singapore by having those tourists and business travellers flow in , more ridership , ticket price lower, hence paying back for the cost of building much faster. Also , the mindset of building a significant transportation like high speed rail is to focus on convenience and socio-economic development in long term rather than short term profit that thinks on want to have fast return , if the corporate company thinks on short term like that definitely a losing business. So, with Singapore participation certainly will ease the burden that Malaysia needs to carry.
Why Singapore need to be compensated? Thats for the cost there has already incurred by Singapore for the HSR project and this include acquiring 2 golf courses, preparing for tender, conducting engineering studies etc.
I am sure Malaysia will also seek compensation if Singapore decided to pull the plug mid way to the project.
So please use some commonsense before asking this sort of questions.
Guess the Chinese are smarter. their agreement on ERCL is bulletproof and guess this will become a model example for any countries who wishes to do business with Malaysia government. Pay first before job starts
Why must singapore be involve in building this infastructure that is not in singapore. It is best singapore build from johore to singapore instead.
The agreement signed by both parties to build this HSR was estimated to RM60 to RM70 billion. FYI, 1 billion is equal to 1000 million. Hence, Malaysia one sided to terminate the contract, therefore, a RM300 million of compensation was very much reasonable cos its less than 0.5%.
It was disclosed that one of the benefits of cancelling the project with Singapore is that Malaysia will have freehand in procurement (meaning no need to be transparent in awarding to connected companies) and where to locate the Rail stations (which states or land owners to benefit) from the project. Would that be the main reasons to go it alone?