Environmental groups have called for a moratorium on the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) pending further evaluation on the viability of the project.

The Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia (Peka) and Treat Every Environment Special (Trees) said the project must be evaluated more thoroughly due to its sheer size as well as the financial, socioeconomic, and environmental effects it would have on the country.

“We are fully supportive of (CIMB Group chairperson) Nazir Razak’s statement...that the RM55 billion ECRL project be thoroughly scrutinised as the project should not be solely measured in terms of investment scale, but also in its value proposition,” the NGOs said in a joint statement today.