KUALA LUMPUR (April 1): The government confirmed today that it has sought another six months — a fifth extension — to decide on its next course of action on the Johor-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link.

"We are asking for an extension of six months, until September," Minister of Transport Anthony Loke told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.

"Well, we are asking for more time from the Singapore government, for us to study the other options," he said.

"Of course we are looking at the costs of the project, how we can reduce the costs further and how do we utilise the project," he added.

On March 7, The Straits Times of Singapore reported that Malaysia has asked for an extension to confirm its joint venture partner for the RTS Link to March 31, said acting transport minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

Prasarana Malaysia Bhd was supposed to be Malaysia's JV partner with Singapore's SMRT Corp as the operator for the RTS Link, with the appointment scheduled on June 2018.

The Malaysian federal administration switched from Barisan Nasional to Pakatan Harapan, which sought a review of large-scale federal infrastructure projects in order to optimise costs, among others.

On RTS, Malaysia has delayed the announcement of its JV partner four times previously — to September 2018, then December 2018, and later to Feb 28 before extending once again to March 31.

In light of the delays, the link's completion deadline is likely to be moved beyond its latest target of end-2024, Bernama reported in January.