TTF: Dr Mahathir Mohamad has returned as Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Barely three weeks into his premiership, he’s already dishing out make believe stories that concern Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak and Barisan Nasional. Yesterday, he cancelled the High-Speed rail link project between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore (see news item below) by telling us that the project returned no profit. But what he failed to mention was the reason the project was mooted by Najib in the first place.
Not many are aware, that the rail link was meant to compensate for the massive flow of air and land traffic that is set to reach maximum capacity by 2023. From March 2017 to February 2018 alone, airlines operated 30,537 flights between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, making the route the second busiest flight path in the world! Najib meant only to prevent the clogging of the route by presenting Malaysians a cheaper alternative.
Mahathir, on the other hand, is here to clog your minds. By telling you that the country’s debt is at an unimaginable RM1 trillion, he frightened some investors off before telling his cronies to snap up the stocks they left behind at dirt cheap prices. Then, once he’s satisfied that his men have what they need, he’ll simply buoy the stock market using funds rerouted from scrapped projects.
And what will become of the stocks?
Weeks prior to the 2019 UMNO election, he’ll get his cronies to sell them off before using the surplus to buy delegates. These delegates – those aligned with Khairy Jamaluddin and Dato’ Seri Mohamed Hasan – will be offered millions to make sure Dato’ Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin lose their party positions. Assuming the plan works, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah will be elected party president and told to open an invitation for Mahathir to return.
The minute that happens, both Mahathir and Dato’ Seri Azmin Ali will announce the crossover of 47 Pakatan Harapan MPs from PPBM, PKR, Warisan and Amanah into UMNO. The crossover will result in Barisan Nasional making a spectacular comeback as ruling coalition and leave Lim Kit Siang and gang foaming in the mouth. Now, if you do not believe a word I’m saying, just ask Dato’ Nik Azmi Nik Daud – Razaleigh’s nephew – if I’m telling you the truth.
Yes, something tells me he knows the truth.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia plans to drop its plans for a high-speed rail link between its capital, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore, and will talk with its southern neighbour about the pact to build it, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said in an interview published on Monday.
“We need to do away with some of the unnecessary projects, for example the high-speed rail, which is going to cost us RM110bn ($28bn) and will not earn us a single cent. That will be dropped,” Mahathir told the Financial Times.
“We have an agreement with Singapore. We have to talk with Singapore about dropping that project,” he said, according to Reuters.
When Pakatan Harapan swept to power in the 14th General Elections on May 9, it announced that it would review mega projects initiated by the previous administration to save the country billions of ringgit.
These may include the HSR, Bandar Malaysia, Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) and the Pan-Borneo Highway.
The HSR is a 350-km railway scheme linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore and is expected to start operations from 2026.
Interestingly, two days before the Dewan Rakyat was dissolved in April to pave way for the 14th general election, MyHSR Corp Sdn Bhd – the firm responsible for the development and implementation of the project – announced the appointment of two project delivery partners (PDPs) for the project to oversee the civil works worth a combined RM30bil-RM40bil.
The contracts were secured by the joint ventures (JVs) of Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd and Gamuda Bhd (MRCB-Gamuda JV) and YTL Corp’s Syarikat Pembenaan Yeoh Tiong Lay Sdn Bhd and TH Properties Sdn Bhd (YTL-THP JV), a subsidiary of pilgrim fund Lembaga Tabung Haji.
