ECRL good for east coast development, says Liow

Bentong (July 23): The East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project is vital for the development of the east coast, said MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, in urging the government to retain the project.

Tunneling costs was high, but economically, the Bentong station would be beneficial, he said, as reported by The Star.  

“The suspension of ECRL has caused a lot of hardship to the locals. There is actually a training programme for about 80 students, which has been suspended.

“Hundreds of trainees had undergone this programme earlier, but now these well-trained and skilled personnel cannot be recruited.

“More than 1,000 local workers have also been retrenched. I regret that the new government is starting to block the past government’s projects,” said the former transport minister.

He also spoke about the need for the government to enhance or introduce better programmes for locals to ensure continuity of government projects, reported the daily.

The suspended training programme in question is the ECRL Industrial Skills Training Programme, three months of on-the-job training and classes aimed at equipping them with knowledge and experience in the rail industry, at Universiti Malaysia Pahang.

The ECRL suspension affected suppliers, local manufacturers and consultants, which was not good for the economy, he said to The Star. 

“I also regret that the government keeps making confusing statements.

“Earlier, the ECRL cost was RM55bil. Then they said it was RM81bil and now they have revised it to RM40bil. We don’t know which is which as they keep changing their figures and using different statistics and data to confuse the public,” he said.