Abstract
This chapter focuses on the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), one of China’s most prominent construction projects in Malaysia since the inception of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The chapter offers a balanced perspective on the ECRL by presenting its pros and cons as well as analyzing on-the-ground implementation issues. Despite its promise to alleviate the proverbial ‘Malacca Dilemma’ and to generate a win-win outcome for both Malaysia and China, the ECRL is hampered by several critical implementation issues, heightening its business and political risk, especially for the Malaysians. There remain significant hurdles to surmount before this undertaking transforms into the ‘game changer’ that resolves China’s over-reliance on the narrow Strait of Malacca and uplifts the living standards of the Malaysians.
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Notes
- 1.
Exacerbating the inability to lure foreign investors is the growing trend of Malaysian firms investing abroad. Some of the reasons include diminishing returns in the domestic marketplace as well as potentially better opportunities (perceived or otherwise) outside of the country (see Lim 2016a, 2017a; Sim and Pandian 2007; Tham et al. 2015).
- 2.
This study was commissioned by the East Coast Economic Region Development Council in December 2009 for a proposed 545 km route from Kuala Lumpur to Tumpat, passing through Mentakab, Kuantan, Kuala Terengganu, and Kota Bharu. Broadly speaking, this route mirrors that of the ECRL (Malay Mail Online 2016b).
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Lim, G. (2018). Resolving the Malacca Dilemma: Malaysia’s Role in the Belt and Road Initiative. In: Arduino, A., Gong, X. (eds) Securing the Belt and Road Initiative. Palgrave, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7116-4_5
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