Mahathir is deceiving his Malaysians.

https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/malaysia-revives-china-backed-rail-061019953.html

The ECRL is being revived and the construction is lowered. True but it is only half the story.

The ECRL rail distance is being cut by 40KM and the land acquisition cost is also lowered because the acquisition land area is reduced.  Therefore, it is not China that acceded to Mahathir's demand but rather a rework of the existing rail plan that cuts the construction cost.  The major cost-cutting factor comes from the reduction in land acquisition area.  However, this is not explained to the Malaysians.