KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 -- Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said he is thankful to Tun Daim Zainuddin for taking on the role as the government's lead negotiator on the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project with China.

Lim said the negotiations would consume a lot of time, adding that he would not be able to carry out his other duties if he had been chosen.

"If we want to do negotiations for a contract that is that large and complicated, it is a fulltime job.

"To have me involved if I were to be chosen, I would not have time to do any other work... I would need to travel back and forth to Beijing, which is about seven hours flight," he told a news conference in Parliament today.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from M...