KUALA LUMPUR – The high-speed rail (HSR) line between Malaysia and Singapore is still under discussion, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The Malaysian Prime Minister said Transport Minister Anthony Loke would bring the matter forward to Singapore after a decision is made.

“It is still being deliberated on our level. As soon as we reach a decision, Loke will liaise with his Singaporean counterpart,” he told the media after launching the Malaysia Commercialisation Year Summit 2023, on Friday.

On Thursday, Singapore’s Acting Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said they had not received any new proposals from Malaysia for the HSR line.

“Singapore is willing to discuss any new proposals for a Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR from Malaysia in good faith, starting from a clean slate,” Mr Chee said.

Malaysia and Singapore inked bilateral agreements for the project on Dec 13, 2016.

The 350km railway line, which was aimed to be completed in 2026, would reduce the travel time between both destinations to 90 minutes.

However, the RM110 billion ($32 billion) project was put on the backburner in September 2018 with both sides agreeing to shelve it until Dec 31, 2020.

On Jan 1, 2021, Malaysia and Singapore jointly announced the termination of the project as no agreements were reached on the changes proposed by Malaysia and the fact that the agreement had expired on Dec 31, 2020.

In March 2021, Malaysia announced it had paid S$102.8 million to Singapore for costs incurred by the republic for the development of HSR and the delays involved. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK