M’sia Govt ‘Okay’ To Go Ahead With Johor Bahru-S’pore RTS But ‘Might Need Some Time’

Lest you’re a cat who does nothing but sleep all day, Malaysia has finally given the green light to go ahead with a train project.

The bad news is, it’s not the SG-KL High-Speed Rail.

So if you still hold out hopes on getting Kuala Lumpur within 90 minutes, you’ll have to wait for “a bit more”. Try never.

But, if you’re the type to aim for the moon and land among the stars type of person, this is for you:

KL might still be out of your reach but JB isn’t.

A Minor Flashback:

Back in 2010, it was announced that there’ll be a train service between Singapore and Johor Bahru.

And no, it won’t be like the overbooked KTM service.

This service, they proclaim, will carry 10,000 people in each direction every hour.

No more traffic jams. No more waiting for four hours just to eat KL-style chee cheong fun.

Just as we were busy celebrating and planning on where to go, the project was suspended on 8 April 2019.

On 14 Oct 2019, Malaysia announced that they’ll have an answer for Singaporeans as to whether the project will go on or not.

And finally, there’s been an update.

PM Mahathir: The Project Will Go On

On 17 Oct 2019, Prime Minister Mahathir gave the go-ahead for the project.

He said that the government intends to continue with the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit Service (RTS).

He added that it will “take some time”.

But Don’t Hold Your Breath

Because even before we were given the chance to digest and celebrate, the project hit the news again.

It was reported that the Malaysian federal government has to buy two plot of lands from the Sultan of Johor (according to sources):

• A plot of land in Bukit Chagar worth RM495 million (S$161.4 million)
• An underwater plot of land in the Johor Straits worth RM198 million (S$64.5 million)

Which is pretty bad news, considering PM Mahathir’s reluctance to continue any rail projects with Singapore seems to be the costs involved.

But Not All Is Lost

The Sultan of Johor reportedly offered to give away the land he owns for free on one condition.

The Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System must be up as soon as possible.

“But, His Majesty Sultan Johor has decreed that if indeed his land in Bukit Chagar is part of the RTS project, he is prepared to surrender it to the government free of charge.”

PM Mahathir, on the other hand, did not mention if the issue is resolved. He told reporters that he will announce it later.

So hold out hope but don’t hold your breath. If there’s anything we’ve learnt from PM Mahathir’s re-emergence into the Prime Minister seat, it’s that he throws a lot of curveballs.