Works Minister S Samy Vellu planned to build an additional lane on each side of the North-South Highway from Rawang to Ipoh in September 2003. This has been scaled down and now the plan is only for additional lanes between Rawang and Tanjung Malim.

Is this extension justified commercially? Judging from seasonal demands during festive seasons and long holidays, it may be. The fact that more people experienced massive jams on their way to and from their homes during the recent Chinese New Year holidays has made Samy Vellu happy to pursue his ambitious expansion plan.

But if the plan goes through, Malaysians will definitely be burdened with toll hikes or a longer period of 'infrastructure colonisation'. As always, the concessionaire will seek ways to finance their additional construction cost.

In this case, the costs involved for additional lanes and for the relocation of the Jelapang toll plaza will exceed RM2 billion. One of the ways the government may 'compromise' with Plus is by extending the latter's concession period by additional 20 years i.e. till 2050 to be exact.

With that, 'infrastructure colonisation' in this country will span over generations. With an average increase of 10 percent for every three years, the cost of toll from Damansara to Ipoh will be RM100.25 by 2050 (compared to approximately RM24 in 2005).

May the government be considerate enough to stop burdening the people and future generations.