Stop toll increase decision made because of budget allocation, not public pressure - Fadillah

The government's decision to stop toll increase on 12 highways for this year and next year was due to the 2017 Budget, not because of public pressure as claimed by DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said Budget 2017 announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had allocated a certain amount for toll charges subsidy.

"If YAB Lim had not left early and if the opposition had not created a ruckus and walked out midway to hold up placards during the YAB Prime Minister's Budget 2017 speech, they would have noticed point 115 which stated that RM10 billion was allocated to help ease the cost of living for Malaysians where the subsidy for toll charges was clearly stated.

"YAB Lim and the opposition are advised to stay and understand the full budget speech in future in order not to make similar mistakes such as the one that he just made that would serve to embarrass themselves," Fadillah said in a statement, today.

Meanwhile, Fadillah suggested that Lim do a petition from all Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributors to back up his claim that all EPF members would be willing to sacrifice their savings in order to make the North-South Expressway (NSE) toll-free, and start doing his petition in Sabah and Sarawak first.

"At first, YAB Lim suggested that the 14.55 million EPF members throughout Malaysia are cronies. Now he wants them to sacrifice their savings and future dividends so that the west coast Malaysian road users no longer need to pay toll for the North-South Expressway," he said.

Fadillah said the Penang Chief Minister was being selfish when he suggested that EPF contributors in Sabah, Sarawak and the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia who do not use the NSE make a sacrifice.

On the matter of the 'sordid' history behind the NSE that was also claimed by Lim, Fadillah said the NSE and other highway toll concessions of the past were structured during the tenure of a previous prime minister, and suggested that Lim check this with the past prime minister.

"Our current government is determined to correct the legacy problems of the past. The take-over of PLUS Highways Berhad in 2011 is one example where toll charges of the North-South Expressway has not increased since 2005 and the benefit of the tolls collected now goes to all Malaysians and EPF contributors instead of to private interests as in the past," he said.

In 2011, the government privatised PLUS Expressways Berhad to rationalise the overall toll structure of all highway concessions in the PLUS Group and prevent unnecessary toll increases. Since then, 51 per cent of it is now owned by the government and 49 per cent by EPF.

"Our government continues to do its best to correct other legacy issues which also included restructuring the Independent Power Producer (IPP) agreements in the year 2012 to be fairer to all," Fadillah said. -- BERNAMA