This one just won’t go to rest. The works ministry says it will submit proposals to the cabinet about the possibility of reducing toll rates – or abolishing collection – once discussions with highway concessionaires are completed, Bernama reports.
According to works minister Baru Bian, the ministry has been given six months to hold discussions and settle the issue. “We are discussing to see if there are provisions allowing for a review of the concession agreement,” he told the Dewan Rakyat.
“As of now, the concessionaires understand Pakatan Harapan’s direction and they are very open (to discussions). We will study if there is a space in the agreements that will allow us to review them, and we will act accordingly,” he explained.
He said toll collection on all tolled highways in the country has more than doubled the cost it took to build them, as The Sun reports. He said there were currently 29 tolled expressways still operating nationwide, and these cost RM35.14 billion to construct, with a further RM2.5 billion spent on operational and maintenance cost on them each year. However, the concessionaires have collected RM74.65 billion since toll collection began, up to 2017.
“The government has also paid compensation worth RM5.11 billion between 1990 and 2017,” he said. Baru stated that of the 29 concession agreements, two were scheduled to end in the next 10 years, 16 were set to end between 11 and 20 years, and the remaining 11 scheduled to end over 20 years.
Last month, Baru reiterated that there would be no abolishment of tolled roads until the country’s finances have recovered, but said that the government was looking at ways to ease the burden on motorists’ wallets. Proposed measures include lowering the toll rates, granting percentage discounts during off-peak hours and not raising toll rates in the next two to three years.
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Too many lopsided contracts by the previous corrupted Government. All to benefit the concessionaires. Best part is, previous Cabinet Ministers all have huge shares in the concessionaire companies.
And rakyat left with huge public debts. Dafuq
The previous corrupted gov who signed all the lopsided contract were manned by the current head of government. We are doomed.
We need all these lopsided deals to feed our overbloated Civil service of 1.6 million Government Servants. Malaysia has the largest pool of Government Servants in the world.
We follow the principle that 10 men must do 1 persons job. Just simply give jobs for the sake of giving jobs.
So this is why we have overpriced agreements in Malaysia. To help GLCs give free jobs. Look at concessionaires…..give jobs to toll booth operators.
Other countries, toll booths are unmanned. All automatic. In Malaysia, each toll booth got about 30 people working, the toll collectors, tea lady, office boy, receptionist etc etc
I and millions of people voted for PH not for free tolls. We voted PH to kick out a heavily corrupted previous Government
So, if there are no free tolls, I am still happy about it.
I love Malaysia and I am willing to rebuild Malaysia back from 60 years of heavy duty corruption
60 years of corruption cannot be healed in 5 months.
Let epf take over the tolls. Then it is truly own and operated by rakyat. Maybe the government can make it easy for epf to take over tolls by giving epf permanent tax free status and lengthen toll concession to 100 years.
Instead of complaining here, why not file a report to SPRM? I believe you know very well details of the Concession Agreements, hence the allegations. Of course businessess want to make money, they are not CR organisations.
Please spesify previous.
Previous = current one. Lolz!
CORRECT!!!
Yes. So true indeed! There’s no difference between Old Malaysia and New Malaysia. Only Najib’s Malaysia have proven to have taken care of rakyats’ welfare.
just like LRT3. Cost from 32 billion can come down now to RM16 billion. All to feed the lazy people always asking bantuan
Public transportation
kesian….tak ada gaji lagi
6 months need to study? Why need to study? Didn’t they made their case to the rakyat that they will be abolishing all tolls if voted into office?
So what now, study 6 months in hopes the rakyat will forget becoz their leader opined that rakyat have short term memories? This is pure crap!
Is this Pakatan Wayang?
Here we go agains
No need abolish the toll fee. Just reduce it enough! Be practical!
Or charge only during peak hours
Previously..
concessionaires: (thinking) hmm..how arr we want to make more money. Consession period near expiry date oledi loh..” Haa..idea!..
Concessionaire: “gomen, we want to increse toll la. Cost expensive now lorr”
Gomen: “ok, we tell rakyat”
Rakyat: “cannot la gomen. We poor rakyat cannot afford”.
Gomen: “ok. We help rakyat. We gip compensation to concessionaires”.
Concessionaires: ” Ok. Pay rm10 bilion”
Gomen: “adoi..no money like that loh..”
Concessionaires: “tak pa..pay rm5 bilion then extend our period lorr. Cincai2 la kira”
Gomen: ” very kind la you. Ok ok”
Concessionaire: (Thinking) Yess..collect more money plus more time to enjoy lohhhh. Hahhaa..im just damn clever”
Currently
Concessionaire: “eh TurnM, you promised the rakyat you will abolish toll. So now how ah?”
TurnM: “Don’t worry, we can give lotsa excuses not to implement and the foolish rakyat will believe it one”
Concessionaire: “eh, how do you know they will ah?”
TurnM: “Easy what, they voted us as Government even when sane people knew what we promised were lies”
Concessionaire: “Ya wor. How come they so dumb one to believe?”
TurnM: “That’s becuz I made one generation of rakyat dumb while another generation dumber and all these time making them think they were smart.”
Concessionaire: (Thinking) Luckily I sided with TurnM during his coupdetat. Yess..collect more money plus more time to enjoy lohhhh. Hahhaa..im just damn clever. “TurnM you are a smart and cunning able to out-Machiavelli Machiavelli himself”
TurnM: “Of cuz! Worse comes to worse, I can always say I don’t know, I cannot remember, I’m not a detailed guy, I’m too old, it wasn’t me who did it. Hahahahaha!”
Concessionaire: “Hahahahaha!”
Kangkung dulu naik sekarang dah turun, apabila dah turun kenapa tak puji Hahahaha!
Ask that founding father of toll in Malaysia how to resolve this instead of asking the minister. Those agreements last forever.
“no abolishment of tolled roads until the country’s finances have recovered”
Nice vague words he told us. So which parameter to use to define “country has recovered financially?”
Outsource everything lor. JKR can relax liao
MRR2 is an example…
How convenient… the heads made the promises and cannot deliver, just push it to a department. When the department cannot deliver, it’s the department fault and not theirs.
while at it, make it a law that ministers and politicians are not part of the highway concessionaire. Directly or indirectly.
if not, the contract gonna be lopsided, and surely the rakyat dicapati as per the BN govt did
nothing new, they will drag the contract more. no brainer.
Abolishment is good. However I don’t think government should compensate those that were extended during Najib regime. Instead why not government work with them to plan a new route and compensate them with new toll collection for the new route instead. I think government should move to solve the congestion problem that we’re having now and plan for future.
Take Thailand for example and apply it onto LDP. Government can allow them to build an elevated highway ontop LDP and a new concession. That would help reduce congestion and if road users wish to speed up their travel even more, they have an alternative to pay for the elevated highway instead of being stuck on the bottom which are free.
Tolled roads originally were to improve not just access, but lower logistics costs by improving delivery times and reach. However, for every upward revision of toll charges, the tolled road concessionaires have not improved traveling times nor extended access. The increases were not funneled into enlarging the capacity of the roads nor improving traveling times. It has resulted in pure inflation for the Logistics costs for businesses as well as anguish for toll payers. It is not of the merchantable quality as the toll increases were expected to bring. This should be the point to argue for the return to original toll rates as nothing has improved with the toll increases.
some toll collection should be made because
* it’s a traffic control mechanism
* helps pay for maintenance & services (R&R etc…)
* help pay for future expansions (new lanes, exits)
unfortunately, the tolls has become a business vehicle for the rent-seekers which most of the concession agreement are made in the 90s (guess who was PM then …)
No need to abolished. Reduce by collecting only a fair amount for overhead, loan payment, road repair only. All already break even. Sign a new agreement after that, not the one berat sebelah like previously.