Bring back HSR to ‘excite the world again’, says Najib

[Spidey10]

14 hours ago, Didu said:

Lai lai lai...let's flip the HSR prata again. 😁

Malaysia suggests reviving discussions on terminated HSR project, Singapore open to fresh proposals: PM Lee

Malaysia has suggested reviving discussions on the terminated Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Monday (Nov 29) after meeting with his Malaysian counterpart Ismail Sabri Yaakob. Mr Ismail Sabri is on his first official visit to Singapore as the vaccinated travel lanes between both countries entered its first day. The Malaysia prime minister met Mr Lee and was hosted to an official lunch at the Istana. 

"The prime minister and I also discussed the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High-Speed Rail, and the prime minister suggested reviving discussions on the High-Speed Rail," Mr Lee said.

"I responded to the prime minister that Singapore and Malaysia had previously reached an agreement to terminate the HSR projects, and this has been amicably settled and closed. Nevertheless, Singapore is open to fresh proposals from Malaysia on the HSR project."

Mr Lee said on Monday that the transport ministries from both countries will discuss the matter, and that Singapore looks forward to getting more details from Malaysia "so that we can study them and consider the matter again, starting from a clean slate".

Mr Lee said he discussed other areas of collaboration with Malaysia, including the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link that is expected to start passenger services by the end of 2026.

"Singapore also continues to support the development of Iskandar Malaysia," said Mr Lee.

"The 14th Joint Committee for Iskandar Malaysia will convene next month, and I hope that they will be able to give the project another further push."

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/hsr-high-speed-rail-malaysia-singapore-2345181

new PM need to come up with new ideas.....so got "results" to show ba....🤣

but honestly, i won't take ler.....too risky, with the lack of maintenance culture....one small slip and risk for everyone travelling at 300km/h...😨 

 

[Voodooman]

1 hour ago, Throttle2 said:

When will this people bloody learn their lesson?

wake up lah.

the late LKY already warned us.  And true enough, it panned out that way.

 

Want to take back a cheating girlfriend?  *facepalm*  No backbone.

Can’t ditch the girlfriend and move out of the neighbourhood. 

The girlfriend paid $100m for the last fling, doesn't read like we are in some serious boy girl relationship. 😂

[Throttle2]

1 minute ago, Voodooman said:

Can’t ditch the girlfriend and move out of the neighbourhood. 

The girlfriend paid $100m for the last fling, doesn't read like we are in some serious boy girl relationship. 😂

The boyfriend spent easily at least 5 times that, i believe  Muayhahhahhahha

[Voodooman]

1 hour ago, Spidey10 said:

new PM need to come up with new ideas.....so got "results" to show ba....🤣

but honestly, i won't take ler.....too risky, with the lack of maintenance culture....one small slip and risk for everyone travelling at 300km/h...😨 

 

No wonder MH ticket price is 40% of SQ. 😂

[Voodooman]

5 minutes ago, Throttle2 said:

The boyfriend spent easily at least 5 times that, i believe  Muayhahhahhahha

I read around $300m but mostly land acquisition cost but luckily we signed a pre nuptial agreement.

https://mothership.sg/2021/03/sg-hsr-cost-discrepancy/amp/

[Mkl22]

On 10/1/2021 at 8:26 AM, Voodooman said:

Yes, we will get more MY working here. Better them than others given the cultural affinity.

Noone will complain of curry.

more will come anyway.... boleh is crumbling. but hope it wont crumble too much.

[inlinesix]

3 minutes ago, Mkl22 said:

more will come anyway.... boleh is crumbling. but hope it wont crumble too much.

Rather, gap btw have and have not has widen.

In addition, underground economy has become more prosperous.

[Watwheels]

And I thought M'sia is in nose level full of debt. 1mdb settle already?

Where they get the money to build HSR?

Every time change govt like change underwear, how to work with them?

[Kklim]

He means "line pockets again".

[Spidey10]

16 minutes ago, Watwheels said:

And I thought M'sia is in nose level full of debt. 1mdb settle already?

Where they get the money to build HSR?

Every time change govt like change underwear, how to work with them?

and for all we know, in the next GE, the underwear change again...🙄

[kobayashiGT]

18 minutes ago, Watwheels said:

And I thought M'sia is in nose level full of debt. 1mdb settle already?

Where they get the money to build HSR?

Every time change govt like change underwear, how to work with them?

Printing of money is free mah. Just keep on printing. no scare one. 🤣

[Voodooman]

On 11/30/2021 at 10:37 AM, Watwheels said:

And I thought M'sia is in nose level full of debt. 1mdb settle already?

Where they get the money to build HSR?

Every time change govt like change underwear, how to work with them?

https://mothership.sg/2021/12/muhyiddin-terminate-hsr-restores-sovereignty/?fbclid=IwAR3xJl_fiTTQMeX02B_1QFtg52jepXL4LpAloXJ-YBrH_Ewgty9i8p5PTS4

He said private sector will fund? Maybe China?  They may demand for the right to buy up all the land around major stations but it would be interesting to know without connection to Singapore or BKK, who is going to pay running cost (read as losses). 

 

[Windwaver]

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/new-bids-in-to-revive-kl-singapore-high-speed-rail-but-govt-funding-remains-missing-link

New Malaysian bids to revive KL-Singapore high-speed rail, but govt funding remains missing link

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia’s plan to revive the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) by relying wholly on private sector financing is unlikely to get off the ground, say industry insiders, with fresh bidders for the project requesting government funding in their proposals.

According to MyHSR Corporation, the government-owned company in charge of developing and implementing the HSR, seven local and international consortia submitted their concept proposals at the close of its request for information (RFI) exercise on Jan 15. It declined to name the companies involved.

The RFI was held in order for the Malaysian government to assess the private sector’s ability to fully finance the project without state funds or guarantees. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration has said it is open to reviving the HSR, but it will not pay for the 350km-long line, which is estimated to cost over RM100 billion (S$28 billion).

It was reported that Japanese companies including East Japan Railway Company pulled out from the project just days before the Jan 15 deadline, describing it as “too risky” without the government’s financial support.

But other companies have ventured a bid, in the hope that the government will relent on its stance. Analysts say the bidders may propose and justify the need for financial support from the government as part of their submissions.

In a stock exchange filing on Jan 26, Berjaya Land announced that its 70 per cent-owned subsidiary Berjaya Rail (B-Rail) had formed a consortium with IJM Construction, Malaysian Resources Corp and Malaysia’s national railway firm Keretapi Tanah Melayu to submit a bid for the HSR.

Sources in the industry told The Straits Times that the B-Rail-led consortium has requested in its proposal that the government compensate it if the number of passengers falls below a minimum number.

“B-Rail believes it is impossible to build this rail without a government guarantee, given its large financial commitment. They have asked for a government guarantee, which then defeats the government’s purpose of using private funding to build the HSR,” said the source.

Another industry source said the B-Rail-led consortium is separately eyeing opportunities to acquire and develop land around the railway stations as another source of income.

ST has also learnt that YTL Corp, which in 2018 was appointed to be a project delivery partner to design and deliver civil works for the HSR before it was suspended, has put in a fresh bid for the project.

A highly placed source in YTL said the company has asked for some form of government financial support in its bid, to manage the mounting costs of building the line.

AmInvestment Bank analyst Alex Goh said no rail project in Asia has got off the ground without government funding.

Indonesia’s first HSR, the 142km-long Jakarta-Bandung line launched in October 2023, received government support in terms of land acquisition, he told ST. The US$7 billion (S$9.4 billion) project was developed by PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China, a joint venture between a consortium of four Indonesian state-owned companies and China Railway International, a subsidiary of China Railway Group.

The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR was terminated in 2021, after Malaysia requested that the project be postponed in 2018 due to its high cost. In July 2023, Kuala Lumpur said it was open to receiving proposals from private firms to revive the project.

Responding to this, Singapore’s then Acting Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said in August 2023 that it had not received any new proposals from Malaysia for the HSR line.

“Singapore is willing to discuss any new proposals for a Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR from Malaysia in good faith, starting from a clean slate,” Mr Chee had said.

Analysts believe that private financing alone cannot revive the project. They say that in order for the HSR to be commercially viable, private companies would need state support for land acquisition, subsidies for train tickets, and maintenance of the infrastructure.

Mr Goh said: “Compulsory land acquisition on this scale requires federal and state government approvals and regulatory clearance.”

Based on its original plan, the rail track spans 335km across four states of Peninsular Malaysia, with the remaining 15km located in Singapore.

Without government funding and guarantees, the project costs would also surge due to higher interest rates for loans, said Ms Wong Muh Rong, managing director and founder of corporate advisory firm Astramina Advisory.

Servicing a RM100 billion loan would cost the consortium RM6 billion to RM7 billion a year on commercial rates, but only RM2 billion to RM3 billion a year if it is government guaranteed, Ms Wong estimated.

“It seems difficult for the private sector to make a decent return for such an investment,” she said.

It remains to be seen if the government can afford to help fund the HSR.

In October 2023, the government passed the Public Finance and Fiscal Responsibility Act that limits the country’s debt level to 60 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), and financial guarantees to 25 per cent of GDP.

As at August 2023, total federal government debt stood at RM1.147 trillion, or 62 per cent of GDP, higher than this target.

Spending on the HSR will also affect the government’s future budgets, as allocations for priority sectors such as health and education could be trimmed, said economist Muhammed Abdul Khalid, a research fellow at the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

He said Malaysia’s annual debt repayment, expected to reach RM49.8 billion in 2024, makes up more than 55 per cent of its entire development spending, compared with 38 per cent two decades ago.

“Malaysia simply can’t afford an HSR. It would be fiscally irresponsible for the government to fund it, and we will be passing the debt on to future generations to bear,” said Dr Muhammed.

[yishunite]

I wonder why no one trust Malaysian gahmen anymore???? such a mystery... 🤔