Free tolls not impossible, stresses Pakatan Harapan

PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan feels it is possible to abolish toll charges completely instead of increasing them.
It said in a joint statement today that it has always been its policy for toll fees to be abolished in stages.
This is not impossible as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak had announced that the Pan-Borneo Highway, spanning 1,090km and costing RM16.1 billion, will be toll-free, it added.
The statement, by PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar, Amanah communication director Khalid Abdul Samad and DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua, was made in the light of a possible toll hike for eight highways nationwide, set for implementation this year.
The highways include the North-South Expressway, Malaysia-Singapore Second Link (Linkedua), Shah Alam Expressway (Kesas) and North-South Expressway Central Link (Elite).
Pakatan has proposed that a "first right of refusal" mechanism, that would benefit all parties, be introduced to resolve the issue. Under it, concession companies will receive priority to be involved in future highway projects in exchange for not raising toll rates for users.
The proposal would protect people's interest while guaranteeing toll concession companies reasonable profits through their involvement in upcoming projects, the statement said.
Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof was reported as saying recently that they were facing a difficult decision on the issue, claiming that maintaining the toll charges at the current rate meant the government has to pay compensation, amounting to RM593 million to date, to the concessionaires.