ECRL will be scrapped should Pakatan Harapan come to power: Tun M (Updated)

PUTRAJAYA: Pakatan Harapan chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he would do away with the ongoing East Coast Railway Link (ECRL) should the Opposition coalition come into power following the 14th General Election.
He cited the project's cost of RM55 billion and practicality upon completion as unfeasible in his reasoning to scrap the project.
"A train from Kota Baru to Port Klang would take around 14 hours of travel time.
"A low-cost flight from Kota Baru to Kuala Lumpur takes just 30 minutes.
"Which is more feasible?" he asked reporters after speaking at a forum titled "A Talk with Tun M Series 2.0: Youths' Economy Challenges", at the Perdana Leadership Foundation, here, today.
Questioning the government's feasibility study on the project, Mahathir opined that roads along Kelantan and the East Coast route should be upgraded instead of coming up with a railway project.
On another matter, Mahathir also clarified that his comments to the Singapore's Straits Times against abolishing tolls which is contained in Pakatan Harapan's manifesto was his own opinion.
"When drafting the Pakatan Harapan manifesto, I had expressed my differences with the others on the pledge of abolishing tolls. Having some experience on the toll system, I was worried that the pledge would be something we might not be able to deliver.
"I couldn't digest the idea that we would do away with tolls.
"Because if we do so, how are we going to maintain roads and expand lanes or even build new roads? If we get the private sector to do it, they would not do so if there is no profit for them," he said.
"That was my concern but the rest of the pledges in the manifesto (along with this) is something that we can do," he added.
Mahathir added that Pakatan Harapan should be coming up with a final decision on the a use of a common logo during the Pakatan Harapan presidential council meeting on Tuesday.
Pakatan Harapan will contest under the logo of one of its four member parties if the Registrar of Societies (RoS) fails to approve its application for registration.