PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has called for patience over the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) cancellation issue.

Dr Mahathir said he left the matter to Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng to make the official announcement if the project was scrapped or not.

"Has Lim Guan Eng made a statement on this? No? So we wait for him lah. Be patient," said Dr Mahathir on Monday (Jan 28).

On the contradictory statements released from his Cabinet members, Dr Mahathir admitted that there had been mistakes.

"Sometimes people make mistakes. We must understand that this is a new government.

"The number of mistakes we make is little, but people notice. Just wait for Guan Eng to make the announcement," said Dr Mahathir.

Dr Mahathir also refuted the authenticity of a letter about the ECRL cancellation, purportedly signed by Lim.

"It has a government letterhead? Anyone could draft a letter and cut out a government letterhead to make it look real. That is not official," said Dr Mahathir.

On Sunday (Jan 27), Lim said the official announcement on ECRL would be made in a written statement and issued this week.

It has been reported that the government is looking for a new contractor after terminating the contract awarded to China Communications Construction Company Ltd to build the RM81bil mega rail project.