IT comes as a surprise that the government is considering to sell off its stake in the North-South Expressway toll concessionaire PLUS to Maju Holdings, which will extend tolls for an additional 10 to 30 years at a lower rate.
After promising to abolish all tolls in its manifesto, the ruling coalition makes a move to extend tolls.
How will this help the move to federalise the toll concessions to convert these into congestion charges? This is already being conceptualised and implemented in the Greater Klang Valley.
If it is about wanting to sell off the company to pare down government backed loans, then why sell the company which contributes to our retirement fund through the Employees Provident Fund (EPF)?
Also, isn’t UEM part of our national investment fund, Khazanah Nasional?
Ministry of Finance says government-related stakeholders in the company, UEM and EPF, have rejected this deal. So why does the government want to sell off PLUS to Maju Holdings?
Hafidz Baharom
Petaling Jaya
