The High Court today ordered former prime ministers Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin Yassin, as well as three others, to file their defence in a suit filed against them for alleged abuse of public office and negligence in connection with the termination of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed ​​Rail (HSR) project.

They were ordered to file their defence statements on Feb 28 at the latest.

The other three defendants named in the suit filed by Mohd Hatta Sanuri, 47, are former minister in the Prime Minister's Department (economy) Mustapa Mohamed, former transport minister Wee Ka Siong and the government.

Lawyer Mohaji Selamat, representing Hatta, said the court also ordered his client to file a reply to the statements of defence by March 28.

The court set March 30 for further case management, he said when contacted after the case management, conducted online before senior assistant registrar Nur Shasha Hidayah Nor Azahar today.

Hatta filed the suit on Dec 30 last year, on behalf of himself and more than 32 million Malaysians whom he said were affected and disappointed by the waste committed by the defendants in terminating the HSR project.

In his statement of claim, Hatta said Mahathir, who was the seventh prime minister, committed tort of 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 to the Singapore government.

He claimed that Muhyiddin, who was the eighth prime minister, also committed tort of misfeasance in public office by terminating the project, causing the Malaysian government and the people to pay RM320,270,519.24 in compensation for the cancellation of the bilateral agreement between Malaysia and Singapore.

Hatta claimed that Mustapha, who was responsible for managing the project, committed a similar offence by shelving the project, while Wee committed tort of misfeasance in public office by denying Malaysians their right to enjoy a first-class transport system with the cancellation of the HSR project.

He is seeking a court order to declare the cancellation of the project null and void, as well as for the defendants to pay RM1 million in compensation to him and all Malaysians for wrongfully and negligently cancelling the HSR project.

On Jan 1, 2021, Malaysia and Singapore announced the termination of the 350km HSR project after failing to reach an agreement on the changes proposed by Malaysia before the expiry of the project agreement on Dec 31, 2020.

Malaysia paid S$102.8 million (RM320.27 million) to Singapore for costs incurred in the development of the HSR project.

https://www.malaysianow.com/news/2023/02/02/ex-pms-three-others-told-to-enter-defence-over-shelved-hsr-project