Video source: The Star Online
Here are some unbelievable quotes from the media interview.
"Decisions are not so easily made. When we make a decision and announce it, the market reacts negatively. The market apparently likes to be told lies about how good everything is so they will give you good marks. But if we tell them we have discovered a lot of wrongdoings, they react by running away with the money, they stop investing and all that. But in fact what we are doing now is to ensure that this country is financially run properly."
"So when we make an announcement, we have people who react negatively. So that's why we have to be very careful about what we say."
"As far as the Singapore Government is concerned, we have not given them full notice yet, but they know what we want to do"
"I think you should read your own press..." (when asked what M'sia wanted to do about the HSR)
This is all bullshit and blatant political showmanship to publicly pressure S'pore as well as seek out nationalist political support by making S'pore the common evil enemy of all M'sians.
There is no big mystery or some genius strategy of Mahathir at work.
This is exactly what he did during the 1998 to 2003 "package deal" negotiations when he was last PM. When he did not get what he wanted, he tried to apply public pressure on S'pore by making misleading public statements. S'pore then had no choice but to set the record straight by releasing the official correspondences between the two PMs. (See here for a summary of the 1998-2003 negotiations)
The most plausible explanation for Mahathir's apparent reluctance to officially communicate to the SG Govt about M'sia's decision to cancel the HSR project, is Mahathir knows very well that once he does that, S'pore will have indisputable proof that M'sia was the one who first initiated to officially cancel the HSR project, and hence M'sia becomes liable not just for S'pore's losses but potentially for all other involved parties' losses.
If M'sia's coffers are really as empty as Mahathir says, do you think he would dare to risk incurring the cancellation's potentially huge liabilities?
For all we know, just the very notion of officially canceling the HSR project and becoming liable for losses may well push M'sia right into the realm of national bankruptcy.
This is just "wayang kulit" (shadow shadow puppet play) put up by Mahathir to see if S'pore will blink and cave in first on officially canceling the HSR project.
If S'pore does so, and falls into Mahathir's trap, then M'sia would have a plausible reason/excuse to deny any liabilities for the cancellation, citing that S'pore was actually the party who first officially communicated the project's cancellation whereas all M'sia did was merely do media interviews, press releases only.
Unfortunately for Mahathir, and M'sia, there is no happy ending to this wayang kulit. He must be senile to hope S'pore would fall into his clumsy trap.
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