KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has asked detractors to provide proof of the alleged losses that the country would incur following the cancellation of the Kuala Lumpur – Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project.
Dr Mahathir said such claims should be backed up with detailed facts and figures, as the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government had done in producing the country's latest debt figure of RM1 trillion.
"Show us the proof of your claims (about the expected losses to be made from scrapping the HSR project).
"When we say that we have RM1 trillion in debts, we have the proof and documents to back up what we said.
"What is being said (claims of losses following cancellation of HSR) remains a hearsay. He needs to show proof," Dr Mahathir told reporters when met outside Bukit Aman Mosque after a buka puasa event with a number of police top brass.
Dr Mahathir was commenting on claims made by Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications Unit chief Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan who remarked that it was 'too simplistic' for the Prime Minister to say that the project 'won't be beneficial because it's going to cost our country a huge sum of money and it will make no money at all from the operation'.
Abdul Rahman said Malaysia would lose an estimated RM209 billion in gross national income (GNI) contribution and also the potential to create 70,000 jobs if the HSR was called off.
Yesterday, Dr Mahathir confirmed that Malaysia would drop the HSR project and would potentially have to pay RM500 million in compensation.
He also said Singapore had yet to receive an official notification from Malaysia on the plan to scrap the project.--Report by Syed Umar Ariff , Fahmy Azril Rosli and Mohd Hasbi Sidek