Contradicting his previous statement on the cancellation of Malaysia’s East Coast Rail Link project, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Saturday that studies were still being carried out on whether to defer the China-backed multi-billion dollar project, The Star Online reports. During his visit to Beijing last week, Mahathir said China’s President Xi Jinping had given his consent on the proposed cancellation of the ECRL and other projects that were awarded to Chinese firms. Xi Jinping’s signature strategy has shown significant progress, but Malaysia’s decision to shelve two China-financed mega projects is the latest sign that improvements are required, writes Wang Xiangwei for South China Morning Post.