New PM to review Belt & Road in Malaysia, fears warship

CHINA's already approved Belt and Road Initiative schemes will be
subject to review after the recent election of the Pakatan Harapan
government that opposes some of its projects.

"We would not like to see too many warships in this area, because
warships attract other warships, and this place may become tense
because of the presence of warships," said Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohamad.

Prime Minister Mahathir returns to office at the age of 92, after an
absence of 15 years, having defeated his successor Najib Razak, who
has been subject to corruption allegations, noted Seatrade Maritime
News of Colchester, England.

Speaking at a press conference the new prime minister said that
previous investments projects by China in Malaysia would be reviewed.

"We need to study all the things done by the previous government. It
is not only about China, it's about a lot of things within the
country," he said.

Included in the planned Chinese investments in Malaysia is a massive
30 million TEU capacity container port on Carey Island close to the
country's existing largest container port in Port Klang. The scale of
the project has raised eyebrows among industry observers and analysts.

Another project with Chinese investors behind it is Kuala Linggi
International Port, which aims to capture a slice of the oil
transshipment and storage market, as well as ship repair, from
Singapore 200 kilometres away.

Prime Minister Mahathir favours a major overland rail link with China
saying he had written a personal letter Chinese President Xi Jinping
suggesting one.

"As you know, when the demand for oil grew, ships were built bigger
and bigger until they were almost half a million tonnes, but trains
have remained small, and not long enough.

"So we should have big trains, and China has the technology to build
big trains, which can carry goods from China to Europe, and will also
make Central Asia-Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and all that, more
accessible," he said.

At the same time he worked about the heavy burden placed on the
country by investments such as the US$13 billion East Coast Rail Link
project being built by China Communications Construction Co.