Singapore’s intention to increase their causeway toll reflects a rash and seemingly foolish act on the part of the Malaysian neighbour.

In answering a question raised in Singapore’s Parliament, Senior Minister of State for Transport Josephine Teo confirmed that the island-state intends to increase the causeway toll to match the increase across the Johor Straits.

Trying very hard to justify the increase which will be implemented in “due course”, Teo hid behind the basis of an apparent ‘matching policy’.

However, she did not explain how this policy came about and whether it is indeed one that has been legally adopted by both sides of the channel.

In her effort to twist and turn the argument against an increase in toll, Teo mentioned that the Malaysian government is aware of a long-standing ‘matching policy’, thus giving the Singapore government a ‘get-out-of-jail’ (increase the toll) card to be used whenever they are locked.

Her theatrics and patronising posture is shaped by a one-over-thy-neighbour diplomatic relations adopted by Singapore.

The ‘matching policy’ espoused by Teo and her fellow cabinet members is a unilateral policy put in place by the Singaporean government to justify an emotive reaction by them.

It was irresponsible of her to abuse the ‘matching policy’ as an excuse to benefit Singapore because the policy was only meant for the Second Link which opened 16 years ago and furthermore, this policy is not legally binding either to causeway or even to the Second Link itself or to either governments.

Teo also conveniently side stepped the fact that her government has on Aug 1 increased the vehicle entry permit (VEP) fee from S$20 to S$35 which has caused an uproar on the Malaysian side.

Unfortunately to her, Malaysia should not be accorded the trump card of a ‘matching policy’ to implement their own VEP fee which is what many quarters in Malaysia are now demanding for.

If this question was posed to her, we can expect her to defend that the ‘matching policy’ is only restricted to the causeway toll and not to other fee.

She realised that the backlash on the causeway toll increase by her own government will gyrate with robust inertia on the island itself as it will affect the Singaporean themselves.

This is so because of the sole fact that 80 percent or around 30,000-35,000 vehicles that criss-cross the causeway on a daily basis are Singaporean registered cars.

To compound the fact above, Singaporean employers will have to absorb the increase in transportation costs for the bulk of their blue-collared employees from Johor for fear of a drastic attrition rate that may affect their companies' productivity.

No space to manoeuvre

These glaring facts do not allow Teo enough space to manoeuvre and it is to the benefit of Singapore as well as its citizens for the toll to remain as it is.

The senior minister went overboard with her weak argument when she tried to ignite a media debate on the Malaysian shores by claiming that the Malaysian government may review their toll increase which in turn will relieve her of the duty to call off the planned toll increase on the Singapore side.

She may think that her meek arguments will result in a Malaysian government being flip-flop and reverse the toll revised rates just like how Singapore achieved the ‘Crooked Bridge’ U-turn decision by the Abdullah Ahmad Badawi government.

Teo failed to explain to the Singapore Parliament that the Malaysian government announced the new causeway toll rates on Aug 1 so as to cover the building of a highway that connects the causeway to the North-South Expressway and not because of the causeway maintenance or operations.

All of these arguments beg the pertinent question, what is the actual and dire justification or rational explanation for an increase in Singapore’s causeway toll?

Nothing, except for a flimsy, biased and unilateral ‘matching policy’.

The spoilt rich brat may never grow up.