BN answers Rafizi’s ‘overpriced MRT’ claims

(The Star) – Barisan Nasional has told Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli not to rely on wrong information from the internet, including anonymous blogs, in comparing the cost of the MRT SBK project to MRT projects overseas.

“We note that Rafizi did not comment on the actual content of our exposure but chose to label us as “Cybertroopers”.

“This suggest that Rafizi realizes that he had been exposed as a fraud who relied on wrong information from the internet including from the anonymous WordPress blog with the name “Pedestrian Observations” to attack the government’s MRT project that as already providing much benefit to the rakyat,” Barisan’s Stategic Communications Team said in a statement.

It said Rafizi publicly alleged the following:

a) The Seoul Line 9 MRT project of 27 km cost USD43 million;

b) The Barcelona Sants-La Sagrera MRT project of 5.8km built between 2008 and completed in 2011 cost USD39 million per km;

c) that Malaysia’s MRT 1 SBK of 51km cost USD103 million per km cost more than double of those MRT projects in Barcelona and Seoul.

“We shall now reveal more evidence that Rafizi had – either knowingly or otherwise- used wrong information to incite and mislead the public by slandering the government.

“As stated in our previous statement, we had said that more authoritative sources for the Seoul Line 9 MRT project from the Korean Development Institute shows that the cost is US$5.7 billion for 37.5km or US$152 million per km. The link is here: http://www.siudmysore.gov.in/UTdetails/Day4.pdf.

“We also said that another source, the Seoul Metropolitan Government gave its average construction cost for its various MRT lines built at different points in time as US$105 million per km (as of 2010).

“This information is on page 4 of the link here: http://chinese.seoul.go.kr/wp-content/uploads/ch/uc/seoul/swf/eBook_/Br_010_rapidtransit/seoul_rapidtransit.pdf.” the statement said.

“You would notice that both links comes from government entities of two different countries – not from those anonymous blogs that Rafizi seems to favour as sources of information.

“Again, we stress that if YB Rafizi still believes that the higher capacity underground Seoul MRT project cost US$43 million per km, he should question the DAP Penang Government why their smaller capacity above ground LRT project cost 50% more at US$64 million per km.

“The Barcelona Sants-La Sagrera “MRT project” of 5.8km that YB Rafizi said cost USD39 million per km is also NOT a MRT project.

“It is just one 5.8km stretch of tunnel €179·3m to build – with no stations, no depots, no signalling system or trains. (http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/infrastructure/single-view/view/barcelona-tunnel-complete.html).

“It is ridiculous for a Member of Parliament (MP) to use the cost for a bare tunnel to compare with a complete MRT project in order to publicly allege that the MRT SBK project costs more than double.

“Why would someone want to compare a tunnel with a complete MRT project?

“It is also ridiculous for an MP to believe that Barcelona would build an MRT system that is just 5.8 km in length.

“For avoidance of doubt, the tunnel mentioned by YB Rafizi is part of the Barcelona Metro Line 9/10 MRT project that is 48km long and cost Euro €6.5 billion (or USD7.9 billion based on 2011 exchange rates). This equates to USD164.5 million per km – much higher than YB Rafizi’s claimed USD39 million per km.

“Construction started in 2002 and was completed in 2014. (Here are two links that show this:

http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/barcelona-metro-line-9/

http://www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/in-the-city/the-big-dig-barcelonas-metro-line-9/

“It is clear that both the specific Seoul and Barcelona MRT projects cited by YB Rafizi are both more expensive than our MRT SBK project on a per kilometer basis.

“Although he got it wrong yet again, to make himself useful YB Rafizi should use the information on the tunnel that he uncovered to question the Penang Chief Minister YAB Lim Guan Eng why does the 5.8km cost USD39 million per km (in 2011 exchange rates) while the Penang Tunnel project of 7.2km cost RM3.6 billion – or USD162 million per km (in 2011 exchange rates).

“YB Rafizi’s numerous mistakes just over the past weeks is the reason why he is no longer taken seriously.

“We are puzzled why YB Rafizi keeps insisting that the Prime Minister sues him. We remind him that he has already been sued by the Prime Minister over his diamond ring remark where YB Rafizi told the courts that he was just joking. it was just a joke.

“However, YB Rafizi has made so many false allegations that it is no longer funny.

“We expect that YB Rafizi will again attempt to swim away out of his outright lying by shooting the messenger who had exposed yet another deliberate attempt by him to defame the government using lies.

“A Member of Parliament repeatedly making baseless accusations that incite the public using outright-wrong data is not harmless like having a seafood dinner.

“It is a dangerous slandering game that YB Rafizi should stop playing,” the statement said.