Guan Eng: Use your votes to protest against toll hikes

GEORGE TOWN: Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (pix) has urged voters in the Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar parliamentary by-elections to use their votes to protest against toll hikes on highways.
They should send a strong message by voting against Barisan Nasional, he added.

Lim, who is also DAP secretary-general, said in a statement today the toll for the North-South Highway (NSH) should in fact be abolished as the concessionaire has already earned back the investment cost.
The government reportedly is currently in negotiations with the concession holders on the matter but a final decision has yet to be reached.
On another development issue, political secretary to Lim, Wong Hon Wai refuted the claim the state was liable for compensation should the proposed under-seabed tunnel project failed to obtain the go-ahead from the Environment Department.
He said the project was subject to getting the Detailed Environment Impact Assessment (DEIA) approval and the contractor will bear all costs if it was not obtained.
He also refuted the suggestion the Penang administration was liable for compensation if the tunnel was replaced with a bridge as the same contractor was capable of building a bridge.
"The chief minister has said the state government is able to build a toll-free bridge due to the savings from building a bridge instead of a under-seabed tunnel," the Air Itam assemblyman added in a statement.