PUTRAJAYA (Jan 30): Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said today the Cabinet has decided that only Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will make announcements on the proposed RM81 billion East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project due to the sensitivity of the contract.

Lim said the Cabinet made the decision after a meeting today.

"The Cabinet met today, and the ECRL matter was discussed, and the Cabinet made a decision to adopt the statement made by the prime minister yesterday, that the matter is still under negotiations, and in view of the sensitivity of the contract, we should allow the discussions, which are now at G2G (government-to-government) level, to be held away from public glare and spotlight.

"We would urge the media to wait for the official statement issued by the government when we are ready to do so. The Cabinet also decided that no minister would make any announcement except for the prime minister," Lim said.

When asked which ministry is actually in charge of the ECRL negotiations, he said "the government of Malaysia is in charge".

Lim said this to reporters here today after a ceremony to hand over a RM20 million mock cheque to Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail in support of the Buy Malaysia Products Campaign Programme.

http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/guan-eng-cabinet-decided-only-pm-make-ecrl-announcements