KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia needs to “excite the world” again to attract global attention, Datuk Seri Najib Razak (BN-Pekan) said in the Dewan Rakyat today.
He said in order to do that, the government needs to continue with projects like the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project which will connect two of Asean’s biggest economies.
“Projects like HSR need to be revived based on the original concept and design,”he said.
“It will give a new ‘breath’ to the peninsula’s southern economic corridor, like Iskandar Malaysia, Batu Pahat, Muar, Malacca, Seremban and others,“ Najib added.
He also pointed out that the project is estimated to create a total of 70,000 job opportunities directly and indirectly.
Additionally, he said, if the project is completed and operating, it can generate US$1.6 billion (about RM6.6 trillion) in revenue yearly to the country, based on the Institute of Developing Economies in Japan.
But the project would not be viable if the HSR’s initial plan to connect Kuala Lumpur to Singapore is replaced with connecting Kuala Lumpur and Johor Baru.
“This will put the government at a greater loss as it costs the country to pay billions in subsidies,“ he said.
“Reviving the HSR project according to its original plan can also revive the Bandar Malaysia project, worth RM140 billion in terms of gross development value.”
He suggested that funds like Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) should be assigned for these development projects, given their success with the Battersea project in the United Kingdom.
