KUALA TERENGGANU, April 5 — It would be a huge loss if the people of Terengganu agreed with the proposal of Pakatan Harapan led by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to scrap the East Coast Rail Line (ECRL) project if they won the 14th general election.
Terengganu State Assembly Speaker Datuk Zubir Embong said the construction of the ECRL was long awaited by residents in the East Coast, as it was sure to benefit the people there, especially in improving the local economy.
“We’ve long been waiting for the moment to have the train (service) and I think it is the proposal (by Dr Mahathir) that will hurt the people of Terengganu the most if they agreed to it.
“We believe that the current government has done detailed research and study on the ECRL project, just like the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project. There used to be a lot of noise regarding the MRT project, and now many people are praising it,” he said after the opening of the Connecting the Unconnected Programme @ Malaysia Inclusive Digital Nation (MINDA) 2018 at Dataran Shah Bandar here, today.
Also present was Communications and Multimedia Ministry deputy secretary-general Datuk Mohd Ali Mohamad Nor.
Meanwhile, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh, who is also Besut MP, said it would be a huge setback to the people of Terengganu if the ECRL project was scrapped, and it would impact the economic development of the state, especially in Besut, as well as Kelantan.
“It will facilitate and expedite travel time from Besut to Kuala Lumpur for example. The ECRL ride will take only three hours, instead of a seven-hour car ride. One can go in the morning and return by night.
“In terms of the economy, of course, there would be more employment opportunities to be enjoyed by the people in Besut as a result of other projects to be implemented if the ECRL project proceeds,” he said when met after the closing of the 3rd CHREST (Centre of Human Resource Studies) International Conference 2018: Nurturing Human Capital Amidst the 4th Industrial Revolution in Kuala Nerus today.
The two-day conference which began yesterday was also attended by former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. — Bernama
