DAPSY Pahang Chief Ho Chi Yang has criticized Pahang MCA for attempting to claim credit for the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project while shamelessly distorting key facts. He emphasized that it was the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government that renegotiated the deal to lower costs and push for technology transfer to create better job opportunities.
Pahang MCA Youth Chief Wong Siew Mun recently claimed that the success of the ECRL project proved the Barisan Nasional (BN) government’s competence in planning large-scale infrastructure projects, while criticizing the PH government’s scrutiny of the project at the time.
Ho, also the DAPSY National Publicity Secretary and Tanah Rata State Assemblyman countered that Pahang MCA Youth’s remarks completely ignore a key fact: without the PH government’s decisive renegotiations in 2019 to reduce costs, the ECRL could have become a massive white elephant that would drain the national treasury.
Original ECRL Plan Was High-Risk and Lacked Transparency
Ho reminded MCA that under the previous government, the original ECRL project had ballooning construction costs of RM66.7 billion, with a total projected cost of RM86 billion. He said the project posed an extremely high debt risk, lacked transparency, and could have jeopardized Malaysia’s financial stability.
“In 2019, the PH government renegotiated the ECRL project and successfully reduced construction costs to RM50.2 billion, with a total project cost of RM75 billion—saving RM11 billion compared to the original plan. Therefore, MCA Youth’s claim that the people suffered losses is entirely unfounded,” he added.
Unity Government Implements Systematic Talent Development for ECRL
“More importantly, after the project was relaunched, the Unity Government facilitated the establishment of ECRL Operations Sdn Bhd—a joint venture between Malaysia Rail Link (MRL) and China Communications Construction Company (CCCC). This company is central to the project’s operations and will create many job opportunities for Malaysians,” Ho said.
He further highlighted that the Unity Government has implemented a more systematic talent development plan. Transport Minister Anthony Loke recently announced that CCCC pledged RM12 million to fully support the ECRL Industrial Skills Training Programme (PLKI-ECRL), which aims to train 3,200 local technical personnel for the operations and maintenance (O&M) phase.
“This not only marks a new stage in skill transfer and talent development in Malaysia-China cooperation, but also transforms the ECRL from merely a construction project into a complete railway ecosystem. It includes employment, operations, maintenance, and industry development,” Ho emphasized.
“This visionary investment in human capital is a perfect example of PH and the Unity Government’s focus on sustainable development and local capacity building. Had the original project continued without renegotiation, these outcomes would not have been possible.”
Ho concluded by stating that the real progress and reforms in the ECRL project stem from the groundwork laid after the 2019 restart. MCA played no role in these developments, yet they are shamelessly trying to take credit. It’s both absurd and frustrating.
He urged MCA to stop ignoring important facts and fabricating false achievements to improve their image. “The public is not easily fooled. The rakyat will not be misled by such deceptive tactics.”