As Malaysia PM Najib visits, Japan to compete with China for high-speed rail project
Japan will pitch for a lucrative high speed rail project linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, as Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak arrived in Tokyo on Tuesday for a three-day visit.
Tokyo will not want to be left too far behind in the pecking order and it will be timely to try and show a balance with China
Japan is rolling out the red carpet, Paul Gabriel, editor of the Malaysian English-language daily, The Star, wrote in an article published on Tuesday, adding that “Tokyo will not want to be left too far behind in the pecking order and it will be timely to try and show a balance with China as far as relations with Malaysia go”.
Najib is slated to hold talks with his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe, on Wednesday. Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Keiichi Ishii will also pay Najib a courtesy call.
As Najib and Abe meet, a high speed rail conference is set to take place in Kyoto, with the participation of top rail transport officials from Malaysia and Singapore. Najib had been invited to give a speech but, due to time constraint, he could not make it. He will fly to Peru on Thursday to attend an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Najib has praised Japan’s shinkansen bullet trains system, which he said has a “strong international reputation” for safety and punctuality. He added that, being the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken by Malaysia, cost is also a key factor in the plans for high-speed rail at home.
Malaysia and Singapore will take into consideration cost efficiency while not compromising on safety, he added. According to the plan, the rail line will run around 350km along the west coast of the Malay Peninsula, from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, with journeys estimated to take about 90 minutes.