NAJIB WANTS RCI ON CANCELLED PROJECTS
Govt should initiate inquiry to determine any wrongdoing, says ex-PM
FORMER prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has called for a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on the three China-linked projects approved during his administration.
The projects were the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and the two Strategic Energy Resources (SSER) pipeline projects.
He said the government should initiate the RCI to determine “if there is wrongdoing”.
“The people deserve to know if the cancellation was based on reasonable and solid grounds, and not made out of anger towards the past Barisan Nasional (BN) government or China, which has refused to bow to Pakatan Harapan’s demands,” he said in a Facebook posting.
He called on the government to reveal all agreements, feasibility studies, economic impact assessments and cost-benefit analysis so that the people could determine if Putrajaya should continue or scrap the projects.
“Until this is done, I am sad and disappointed that the people in the east coast will lose out on a development project which was aimed at boosting the economy in their states to be on a par with the west coast.”
Touching on Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s comment on the “stupidity” of Najib’s government in negotiating contracts and deals that the government was now trying to untangle, Najib said contracts negotiated with Chinese companies had exit clauses.
“This is unlike the Independent Power Producer (IPP) concession agreements or the toll agreements which were signed during Dr Mahathir’s time.
“We can see how even the PH government is unable to fulfil its promise to abolish toll until now.”
Najib said he wanted to clear the misconception that had arisen following the government’s decision to scrap the ECRL.
He said many had questioned how the project had escalated from the initial cost of RM30 billion to RM55 billion.
He said the RM30 billion figure was based on studies done in 2009 for a 545km track.
“This was later extended to 620km and the alignment for the track was also changed to make it more efficient and to avoid too much land acquisition.
“Then, a 50km tunnel was needed across the Titiwangsa range. This was phase one of the project, which cost RM46 billion in 2016 due to inflationary costs and also the weak ringgit.
“If this project is done seven years from now, it will cost more, just like the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), which has escalated from RM27 billion to RM50 billion.”