KUALA LUMPUR: A 47-year-old man has filed a lawsuit against former Malaysian prime ministers Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin Yassin for alleged abuse of public office and negligence over the cancellation of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project.
Mohd Hatta Sanuri, who filed the suit through Messrs Mohaji, Hazury & Ismail on Dec 30 last year, also named former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Mustapa Mohamed, former transport minister Wee Ka Siong and the government as the three other defendants.
In the statement of claim, Mohd Hatta said Dr Mahathir, who was then prime minister, had committed tort misfeasance in public office when he decided to postpone the HSR project, causing the government and the Malaysian people to pay compensation of almost RM46 million (S$14.2 million) to the Singapore Government.
He claimed that Muhyiddin also committed tort misfeasance in public office for terminating the project when he was prime minister, causing the Malaysian government and the people to pay RM320.3 million as compensation for the cancellation of the bilateral agreement between Malaysia and Singapore.
Mohd Hatta also claimed that Mustapha, who was responsible for managing the project, had committed a similar offence by shelving the project, while Wee committed tort misfeasance in public office for denying Malaysians their right to enjoy a first-class transport system.
He is seeking a court order to declare the cancellation of the project null and void, as well as for all the defendants to pay RM1 million compensation to him and all Malaysians for wrongfully and negligently cancelling the HSR project.
Mohd Hatta is a member of the Kuala Selangor Municipal Council. He is also a member of Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan coalition led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
When contacted by CNA, he said that he filed the suit in his capacity as an individual and not as a member of Amanah.
On Jan 1, 2021, Malaysia and Singapore announced the termination of the 350km HSR project as the two countries failed to reach an agreement on changes proposed by Malaysia before the expiry of the project agreement on Dec 31, 2020.
Accordingly, Malaysia paid S$102.8 million in compensation to Singapore for costs incurred for the development of the HSR project.
The 350km HSR would have shortened the traveling time from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore to 90 minutes by train, from the current 11 hours on existing train services.
The case management of the suit has been set for Feb 2 before High Court Senior Assistant Registrar Nur Shasha Hidayah Nor Azahar.