PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia has yet to decide on whether to go ahead or abolish the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project over concerns pertaining to market reaction.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad told a media conference today that he believed that Singapore is familiar with Malaysia’s stand on the matter.
He said previous announcements on the country’s fiscal situation did not bode well for the market, which he said tended to be grossly spooked by any adverse state of affairs.
Dr Mahathir was commenting on a remark by Singapore’s Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who said that there has yet to be reply from the Malaysian government regarding a diplomatic note sent on June 1 to seek Malaysia’s position on HSR.
“Decisions are not easily made. When we make a decision and announce it, the market reacts negatively. The market, apparently, like to be told lies about how good everything is (so that) they will give you good marks.
“If we tell them that we have discovered a lot of wrongdoings, they react by running away with (their) money, they will stop investing and all that.
“But in fact what we are doing now is that to ensure this country is financially run properly.
“That’s what we are doing. They should appreciate it. But their initial reaction is ‘oh RM1 trillion (in debt), let’s get out of here.’ That is their reaction.”
Dr Mahathir said as far as Singapore is concerned, Malaysia had yet to provide the republic with notice.
“So when we make an announcement, we have people who react negatively. So that is why, we have to be very careful about what we say.”
“They (Singapore) know what we want to do (on efforts to stabilise the country’s economy).”
Reported by Azura Abas, Syed Umar Arif, Irwan Shafrizan Ismail and Fairul Asmaini Mohd Pilus
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