December 12, 2022

In ‘Commentary: Could Anwar’s government bring back Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR project?’ (Channel NewsAsia, December 2022), Dr Serina Rahman (NUS Southeast Asian Studies and ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute) discusses whether Malaysia’s new prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, will revive the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) project.

With the fall of the Barisan Nasional government in 2018, the HSR project was put on hold by Malaysia because of economic difficulties. It was eventually terminated at the end of 2020. However, there are signs that the project may be revived. In late 2021, then Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob suggested holding new discussions on the HSR. In the same year, Mr Anwar also called cancelling the project a mistake.

However, Dr Rahman believes that the HSR project is still unlikely to be revived in the short run. Besides the cost of building the railway and the expected high ticket price, people’s unfamiliarity with travelling between Malaysia and Singapore by train is another major setback. Moreover, Mr Anwar has many other matters on his priority list, such as containing rising inflation and developing East Malaysia and Perak.

Dr Rahman argues that the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System railway link is a more feasible solution than the HSR to the daily traffic congestion at the Causeway and Second Link. The project is expected to be completed in 2027.

Read the article here: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/hsr-kl-singapore-high-speed-rail-revival-anwar-malaysia-3127496