PETALING JAYA: The on-again, off-again East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project has not been cancelled.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the ECRL, along with other China projects in Malaysia are not yet scrapped.
He said these projects are still being studied whether to be dropped or deferred.
The study will also include finding other ways to cary out these projects without costing too much money.
"What I said was, we can drop, defer and find other ways, which will not cost us a lot of money.
Presently, he said the government is studying the available options, saying, "..either to defer or give it to another party, but we have to negotiate with them and if they agree.. we can do it."
Dr Mahathir was speaking to reporters after the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) townhall session with the party's division leaders at the Sheraton Hotel, here, today.
During a recent official visit to China, Dr Mahathir was reported as saying that the multi-billion ECRL project and the Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline (TSGP) projects are cancelled for now.
The prime minister said Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang understood the reasons behind the cancellation of the two Chinese government-backed projects.
“I have explained to them and they understood the situation and accepted them,” Dr Mahathir told journalists at the end of his five-day official visit to China.
On another matter, when asked to comment on news reports if his recent visit to China was also to seek a loan as the loan from Japan was rejected, Dr Mahathir denied such claims, saying Malaysia has enough debts with China.
"No I didn't ask. We have enough debts with China."
The prime minister explained that with regard to the loan from Japan, officers are still working on it.
"We can't go to the Prime Minister's office and ask for a yen loan just like that. You should do it properly.. currently our officers are working on the yen loan," Dr Mahathir said.