HSR can continue as long as not funded by government, says Loke

• Transport Minister Anthony Loke, as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has mentioned before, the government welcomes any proposal from the private sector to continue the mega project.
• “We are not stopping it. The prime minister has given me instruction that we can talk about it. We are open to any proposal from the private sector as long as it is not funded by the government.”

KUALA LUMPUR (March 8): Malaysia is open to proposals aimed at reviving the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project as long as it is not funded by the government, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook.

He said, as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has mentioned before, the government welcomes any proposal from the private sector to continue the mega project.

“We are not stopping it. The prime minister has given me instruction that we can talk about it. We are open to any proposal from the private sector as long as it is not funded by the government,” he told reporters after speaking at Invest Malaysia 2023 on Wednesday (March 8).

However, as of now, Loke said the government has yet to receive any specific or complete proposal from the private sector and there is no timeline to complete the project because the agreement has been cancelled by the previous administration led by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

“There is no urgency in terms of reaching any milestone so right now we (Malaysia) are open to a complete new funding mechanism and implementation,” he said.

On Jan 1, 2021, Malaysia and Singapore jointly announced the termination of the HSR project as both countries failed to reach an agreement on changes proposed by Malaysia before the project agreement lapsed on Dec 31, 2020.

Asked about the Carey Island port proposal, Loke said the Port Klang Authority has done a feasibility study on it and a Cabinet paper will be prepared soon.

There are private sectors that are interested to develop the port but for now remains at the preliminary stage, he said.