PM asks Rahman Dahlan to prove HSR cancellation is a mistake

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has asked Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications Unit chief Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan to show proof in black and white that the Kuala Lumpur – Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project cancellation is a mistake.
"He has to show proof (that the cancellation of the HSR project) is a mistake," he said.
Mahathir chided Abdul Rahman by saying that he was just running his mouth without without showing adequate proof.
"We said that they (Barisan Nasional) had accrued a national debt of RM1 trillion, we had papers, documentation that prove this. Don't just talk, ask him to come out with evidence," he said at a Breaking fast dinner with the police force, with him was Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Abdul Rahman said that it was "too simplistic" for the Prime Minister to say that the project "won't be beneficial because it's going to cost the country a huge sum of money and it will make no money at all from the operation."
Abdul Rahman said Malaysia would lose an estimated RM209 billion in gross national income (GNI) contribution and also the potential to create 70,000 jobs if the HSR was called off.
He also noted that a study by the research body Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organisation (IDE-JETRO) found that the HSR would have delivered a US$1 billion (RM4 billion) economic gain to Malaysia every year.
Meanwhile, Mahathir also said that he has not informed Singapore formally of the cancellation of the project but assured that they will be informed.