btw, am figuring that the deal and dealings are back on, as good as in the bag
obor forward, Malaysia and Thailand and Burma bracket Singapore, and Singapore must adopt the same rail standard of adjacent neighbours, so let us watch & brief w/r to trans-euro-asia-africa rail connectivity, along side same of 5G togetherness
scmp.com
Back on track? Malaysia is in ‘last mile’ of talks with China to revive East Coast Rail deal that Mahathir Mohamad ‘scrapped’Beijing is willing to lower US$20 billion price tag for project, says Malaysian foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah Renewed talks could be step in repairing frayed relationship with China
“It is not cancelled until and unless we can’t settle on the numbers,” Saifuddin said. “China understands our constraint and they’re willing to scale down the size of the project and the cost. The discussion is probably in the last mile.”
Since returning to power last May, Mahathir has tested Malaysia’s relations with China. Besides the railway, he has also cancelled a gas pipeline project backed by China, criticised foreign ownership in a housing development marketed to Chinese investors, and warned against “a new version of colonialism” on a trip to Beijing.
Malaysian foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah speaks during a press conference in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on Wednesday, January 16, 2019. Photo: AP/Yam G-Jun
China’s state-run Global Times newspaper last year blasted Mahathir’s “piercing” remarks, saying they “will definitely make Chinese investors worry about Malaysian public opinion and whether such an atmosphere will affect investment in the country”.
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