A total of 32 highway toll concessionaires in Malaysia have protested the government’s move to directly award multi-lane fast flow (MLFF) project, Free Malaysia Today reports.
Citing sources with knowledge of the matter, FMT says that the Malaysian government has signed an “appointment agreement” with KJS-SEP Synergy, a company linked to YTL Corporation, for the project valued at RM3.46 billion without consulting the highway concessionaires who will eventually foot the bill.
The Association of Highway Concessionaires Malaysia (PSKLM) has sent a letter of objection to the works ministry, and claim that the move violates their individual agreements with the government, according to the sources. PSKLM is seeking legal advice on the matter, as the government has offered KJS-SEP Synergy a 20-year concession.
The association adds that, in offering a concession to a third party over their existing concessions, the new offer is against the existing agreements.
“The ministry is putting up another paper any time soon to conclude the appointment without consent from the concessionaires. Neither were they given any details on the terms of the appointment. In the absence of those details, it is unfair for the government to do this without our consent as parties with live contracts,” a source was quoted by FMT as saying.
Separately, PSKLM had sent an official letter signed by all 18 companies representing the concessionaires, with an executive summary of how its new award would work against them and the government, according to another source informing FMT.
The main concerns are of the project’s estimated cost of RM3.46 billion, which PSKLM claims can be reduced by 30% is the individual companies are allowed to build and implement the MLFF system by themselves. The awarding of the project “smacks of a major monopoly”, according to one of the sources, which claims the total toll revenue annually is about RM6 billion.
“After the implementation, the company will recover its implementation cost with an annual payment of between RM650 million and RM800 million by concessionaires,” it said, adding that the company has no experience in the industry, and that the cost competition “is questionable as there has been no cost-benefit analysis”.
In addition, the source adds that current toll operations and their validation process by concession companies will be taken over by KJS-SEP, with potential integrity issues in terms of traffic and toll revenue as the process would be controlled by a single company “without checks and balances”.
In October, The Edge Malaysia reported that a private sector proposal for MLFF implementation was met with lukewarm response.
The news outlet was told by sources that the concessionaires were not comfortable with third parties undertaking toll collection on their behalf because there could be leakages, which could affect overall toll collection. The current rate of leakage from vehicles not paying toll charges is 0.01%, and a source questions the ability of a third-party collection in sustaining the low rate of leakage from a barrierless toll system.
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Very madani indeed…will Bersih go down to the street to protest…
MACC should investigate the direct award. there are sure some juices news behind.
balik balik YTL, diff PM diff governments, same player??
this clearly shows how deep the rabbit hole is… Blackrock has sertain shares in YTL!!
Anwar menang tol hapus
Wow YTL so influential, can get many big government contracts.
Also, 2X5 = 5X2, everyone is just the same.
This is a deeply corrupted country.
Very good move..to save multi-billions of ringgit duit rakyat for the direct awarding projects.
Why YTL keeps getting projects regardless which gov in power? Not that they have good record in delivering them.
Its better to have a single toll collection system. looking at the daily queues at toll plaza and malfunctioning of toll booths, the current operators are clearly not interested in improving their services. They are not accountable for any QOS.
Fully support the MLFF by KJS-SEP. Set QOS for the new operator.
Isn’t this just plain “Kroni”sme, back to Mahathirs Era so it seems. Sometimes its not fair that I have to suffer thanks to those that got fooled. We were almost in the midst of abolishing concessionaires’ all together, we were so close but people just had to suddenly feel a false sense of justice is in their hands. True i guess the theory, when hardships follow people too busy working, when none present chaos ensues.
looks like some people are not getting their middle-man commissions and became unhappy. LOL.
Not too long ago Muhyiddin janawibawa awarded to Towkay perabot pagoh… Until busted
Kan dah kata it’s gonna be that scammer company YTL.. The highway concessionaires don’t need to be particularly smart to know they’ll be screwed seven ways till sunday by YTL the way the education ministry was screwed mercilessly by YTL for years with that ridiculous Bestari Net.
Nothing that YTL has ever done ever amounted to anything more than half-baked corner-cutting vendor-screwing scam jobs.
One just gotta love Malaysian Monopoly crony company protest against another company largely due to jealousy and no more free money without doing work by giving sub-par work to every Malaysian.
Madani suppose to open tender ka? how come direct award?
The voters euphoria of hope in seeing the MADANI unity germen bringing reforms to end monopolies has simply EVAPORATED.Syed Mokhtar’s Bernas semi rice monopoly was targeted..fair.
But now highway monopoly..oh whats going on?
Cronyism is ‘seemingly’ resurfacing at breakneck speed.
Dont preach honesty,when everything is cloudy.
Concession on top of concession ? Suppose to toll free madani, janji capati lagi !