KUALA LUMPUR: The time is ripe to revive the Kuala Lumpur–Singapore high-speed rail (HSR).
Johor State Investment, Trade and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Lee Ting Han said the newly formed unity government should seize the opportunity to review the feasibility of the project shelved on Jan 1 last year.
"This would give Malaysia and Johor especially, much value in terms of economic spillover," he said on the sidelines of a Belt & Road Initiative symposium in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia at Skudai here today.
He however said the ball was in the Federal Government's court and the state had to await decisions made on the project before it could give its input.
Asked whether the revival of HSR project would address the property overhang in Johor, he said it could partially solve the problem.
"It might partially address the issue because we do believe the HSR project may create economic spillover as it can attract more talent.
"For example, multinational companies based in Singapore might migrate some of their operations to Johor because of the cut in travel time.
"It will also create a seamless economic bubble between Malaysia and Singapore," he added.
Earlier, in his speech Lee affirmed that this was the time to revisit the revival of the project.
"With the pandemic derailing our (economic growth) trajectory, the HSR might not just get us back on track, but speed up our journey towards embracing the global economy," he said.
On Aug 22, former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob was keen on the speedy revival of HSR with Singapore.
This echoed Singapore PM's Lee Hsien Loong statement on Nov 29, 2021, who said he was open to the idea of a new proposal for the HSR.
The countries inked an agreement on the project in 2016, but terminated the project on Jan 1 last year, after multiple delays.
The RM110 billion project covers 350 kilometres of tracks and development, and would cut travelling time from the Lion City to the Federal capital to 90 minutes.
