Malaysia Govt Still Negotiating With China on ECRL

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 30 (Bernama) -- The government is still in the midst of negotiating the RM81 billion East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) contract terms with China, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng Wednesday. He said the Cabinet at Wednesday's meeting discussed the ECRL issue and made the decision to adopt Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's statement that it would undergo negotiations in view of the sensitivity of contract. "We should allow the discussions which will now be held between government to government, and away from the public glare. I would urge the media to wait for the official statement to be issued by the Malaysian government when we are ready," he said. Tuesday, Dr Mahathir said that no final decision had been made on the ECRL project, and both countries were still negotiating the matter. China Communications Construction Co Ltd (CCCC) is the main contractor for the mega-rail project. Speaking to reporters after presenting a RM20 million cheque to the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry for the Buy Malaysian Products Campaign here, Lim said the Cabinet had also decided that only Dr Mahathir would make statements pertaining to the ECRL project. To a question, Lim said the government-to- government discussions would be confidential. "Of course there is a time frame, but let discuss the matter in a confidential manner. I think this is normal and there is no need for a media hype," he added. -- BERNAMA