PUTRAJAYA, Jan 24 — Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said he does not know if the Chinese contractor for the China-backed East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project had been terminated.

Singapore daily Straits Times (ST) cited an anonymous source in its report yesterday as claiming Putrajaya was looking for a new contractor to build the 688km rail project connecting the Klang Valley to the peninsular east coast after allegedly terminating the contract awarded to China Communications Construction Company (CCCC).  

"I don’t know. I just got back from overseas,” Dr Mahathir told reporters here when asked for verification.