KUALA LUMPUR - After a week of embarrassing flip-flops, the Malaysian government is due to make a definitive announcement this week on whether it will proceed with the multi-billion-dollar East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project.

But the lack of a unified response so far from Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's cabinet signals concerns and disagreements within the administration over the pushback from Beijing that might be triggered by cancellation.