Three China-backed projects totalling $22 billion will be cancelled until Malaysia can find a way to pay its debts, the country’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said during a visit to Beijing on Tuesday.

The projects include a railway connecting Malaysia’s east coast to southern Thailand and Kuala Lumpur, and two gas pipelines.

“I explained to (the Chinese leaders) why we can’t have the ECRL (East Coast Rail Link),” Mahathir told Malaysian reporters at the end of his five-day visit.

“It’s about borrowing too much money, which we cannot afford, we cannot repay, and also because we don’t need those projects for Malaysia at this moment... our problem now is how to solve our financial deficit.” Mahathir is trying to reduce Malaysia’s national debt, which has ballooned to some $250 billion.

After meeting Premier Li Keqiang on Monday, Mahathir said he believed China would help Malaysia resolve its fiscal problems.

The Malaysian leader also warned against “a new version of colonialism happening because poor countries are unable to compete with rich countries just in terms of open free trade”.

Agence France ­Presse n letters@hindustantimes.com

Courtesy: The Hindustan Times: 22 Aug 2018