Abang Johari speaks to reporters after officiating at the event in Juma’ani Pavilion in Kuching.
KUCHING (March 31): The state government has not been officially informed about the proposal to construct the Trans Borneo Railway by Brunei-based company, Brunergy Utama Sdn Bhd.
In this regard, Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said he was not aware of the plan, adding that he had just read about it from the news.
“It appears to be a private sector proposal that does not require government’s consideration at this point.
“If we were to proceed with this railway project, there must be agreements with Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei,” he told reporters when met at the ‘Rona Warni Aidilfitri X-Travaganza’ in Juma’ani Pavilion here today.
However, Abang Johari did mention that the Malaysian Economic Planning Unit (EPU) was conducting a study on the proposal.
He added that the EPU would engage in government-to-government discussions with Indonesia and Brunei towards reaching a consensus over the development of this project.
Brunergy Utama Sdn Bhd, on its website, had announced that the Trans Borneo Railway project would be implemented in two phases involving routes spanning 1,620km.
The first phase would connect cities from the west to the east coast across Borneo, beginning from Pontianak in West Kalimantan, Indonesia and ending in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, described on the website as ‘an economic focal area’.
The route would cover major hubs across the region including Kota Kinabalu, Kimanis/Papar, Beaufort, Sipitang, Lawas, Bangar, Limbang, Bukit Panggal, Miri, Bintulu, Sibu, Sri Aman, Kuching, as well as Sambas Singkawang, Mempawah and Pontianak in Indonesia’s Kalimantan.
Meanwhile, the second phase would involve North and East Kalimantan, connecting the main route along Samarinda towards the new capital of Indonesia, Nusantara.
The route would cover Long Seridan, Ba Kelalan, Long Bawan, Malinau, Tanjung Selor, Tanjung Redeb, Pengadan, Lubuk Tutung, Bontang, Samarinda and Balikpapan.
Yesterday, Bernama reported that Brunei Transport and Information Communications Minister Pengiran Datuk Seri Setia Shamhary Mustapha said there had been no official discussion at the government level with regard to the Trans Borneo Railway proposal.
However, Shamhary, as reported by Brunei-based newspaper Borneo Bulletin, said his ministry was aware of the aspirations of the company to provide train services within Borneo, but this would still require further study.
“Even though there has been no official discussion at government level about it, at the Asean level, there is an Asean Railway SubWorking Group, which discusses matters related to railway connectivity within Asean, so this matter may be raised in the future,” he said, quoted by the newspaper.
The proposal by Brunergy Utama Sdn Bhd to start a high-speed rail network in Borneo had caught media attention recently as the plan aimed to shorten travelling time between Brunei, Sarawak, Kalimantan and Sabah.
The company said the US$70 billion (RM330 billion) project would be implemented in two phases, involving routes that would be served by high-speed trains that could reach the speed of up to 350 kilometres per hour.