The Malaysian government has no plans to impose charges upon private vehicles entering city areas as the move may burden the people, said prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, reported Bernama.
The move was not suitable for implementation in Malaysia in the near future because public transport infrastructure is still under development, Anwar said. In February, transport minister Anthony Loke said that the implementation of congestion charges in Kuala Lumpur is not feasible for the time being as public transport needs to be improved first.
“In some countries, to encourage the use of public transport, they impose charges on other (private) vehicles entering the city. We are not proposing that for now, as we feel it may be burdensome,” the prime minister said at the launch of Terminal Bersepadu Gombak which took place today. The current priority is to develop a comprehensive, integrated and people-friendly public transport network, Anwar said.
Earlier this year, consideration for introducing a vehicle congestion charge in Malaysia surfaced once again, where the scope of application being considered was expanded to beyond the Klang Valley to include George Town in Penang, as well as Johor Bahru.
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They afraid loosing those thick car sales taxes and duties. I always use public transport in KL and area surrounding it, it’s not perfect but comfortable enough. A lot of improvement can be done to increase capacity and reach-ability, they just don’t want to, since public transport have a really thin indirect profit margin.