Saifuddin stressed PH’s respect for bilateral relations with Beijing. — Picture by Azneal Ishak

KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 — Pakatan Harapan (PH) does not blame Beijing for the lopsided contracts in the Chinese-backed projects even if the coalition consistently harped on the issue in the run up to the May 9 election, Singapore’s Straits Times reported today.

The paper quoted Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah as saying the “campaign narrative is still relevant as far as these projects are concerned” and Kuala Lumpur will only seek to renegotiate terms.

“We do not blame the Chinese government because their companies signed an agreement or several agreements with Malaysian companies under the auspices of the government of the day,” the PKR leader said in his first sit-down interview with foreign media on Tuesday.

“So you can’t fault the Chinese government for that.”

Up to RM100 billion (S$33.7 billion) in infrastructure spending contracted to Chinese state firms had been stalled after Kuala Lumpur said it needed to rein in government liabilities of more than RM1 trillion.

The new administration also said the terms of these agreements awarded without open tenders were questionable, such as payments based on time instead of progress of construction.

One of the most notable projects, the East Coast Rail Link, would eventually cost RM81 billion, far in excess of the RM55 billion quoted by leaders of the previous administration. The ECRL joins the ports of Klang in the west and Kuantan in the east before heading north to the Thai border.

The Finance Ministry had also recently disclosed that a Chinese contractor building two gas pipelines worth over RM10 billion was paid 88 per cent of the fee despite completing just 13 per cent of the project.

”We need to negotiate, if not all, most of the agreements that were signed.one or two other megaprojects”, Saifuddin commented.

PH was critical of the projects and had used the issue as a key election campaign in the run-up to its shock win on May 9.

Some of the projects used as campaign fodder were Chinese-led developments like the massive RM400 billion Forest City reclamation in the Johor Strait overlooking Singapore, as well as the RM40 billion Melaka Gateway maritime park.

But in the interview with ST, Saifuddin stressed PH’s respect for bilateral relations with Beijing.

“The Malaysia-China relationship has been there for hundreds, if not thousands, of years,” he said.

“It is in the interest of both countries that we do even better in terms of bilateral relationship,” he added.

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had said Malaysia will always be open to foreign direct investments, but will receive them only in terms favourable to its interests.

Beijing, on the other hand, has signalled its readiness to talk terms with the Mahathir administration.

An aide to the Premier told ST that Tun Dr Mahathir is set to travel to China on August 17, with Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng also planning a trip soon.