Azmin to issue statement on KL-S'pore HSR

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 6): Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said his ministry will issue a statement at a later stage on details of the planned Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR).

Mohamed Azmin said his recent visit to Singapore is a private visit and was not arranged to meet with the Singapore Trade and Industry Minister.

"It was a private visit. I will issue statement on that (HSR) at some point.

"Anyway, yesterday (Sunday) I was there (in Singapore) to visit (Home Minister) Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (at a Singapore hospital). I took the opportunity to meet some senior officials in Singapore to discuss about HSR but I will issue a statement on that," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

Mohamed Azmin said the meeting was "positive" and the official meeting will take place in August.

"No, the deadline is not in July. The date was proposed by the Singapore side but I have written a letter to sum up the date," he added.

As reported last month, Mohamed Azmin said he will meet Singapore Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing to discuss the future of HSR.

On May 30, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced that the cabinet has agreed to scrap the HSR project due to high financial costs, subject to discussions with the Singapore government.

The service, targeted to begin by Dec 31, 2026, will cut travel time between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to 90 minutes. – theedgemarkets.com