Union president Abdul Razak Md Hassan said this should be the priority for Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s Cabinet.
He said the new government must not follow the way the previous Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) administrations managed the railway network project.
“Our hope for the new government is that policy changes will be done more boldly by removing what is unfriendly and no longer works. This includes policies that risk the safety of the people,” he told FMT.
The KVDT2 project has been tied up in a court case after the government cancelled the contract awarded to Dhaya Maju-LTAT in early 2018.
It has been delayed twice.
Initially, the PH administration terminated the award, citing costs. The contract was reinstated in July 2019 after the PH government conceded there was no basis to terminate it. Costs were, however, reduced in line with reductions in the scope of work.
However, last September, the PN administration cancelled the company’s contract again, leading to a dispute that has gone to court.
The dispute has caused delays to the project, making parts of the railway network unsafe.
“The court process will take a long time, which is why I implore the government to renegotiate with the contractor and again review the contract termination. This is to ensure the project can continue smoothly.
“However, if the legal process continues, not only will the delay continue, it will also hinder KTMB’s progress.
“I hope the new prime minister will make changes that prioritise the safety of the people.”
Veteran transportation planning consultant Rosli Azad Khan believes the establishment of the new government will not affect the ongoing legal process.
However, he noted that if the new government followed the same course of action as the previous governments, the project would suffer further delays, leading to a further increase in the overall cost.
“When financial analysis is done, including the loss of opportunity in revenue from the commuting public, plus the extra costs which the public has to incur from such delays, the overall losses are going to be massive.
“The problem of not being transparent is very costly both in terms of project financing to the government and the costs associated with project delays to the rakyat and the nation. But I doubt if we can achieve it with the current minister in charge,” he added.