I refer to the news that the government is considering a toll hike request from various toll concessionaires and the government is looking at a win-win situation.

Whatever the solution is going to be, I sincerely hope that it will not be an extension of the concession period. Government compensation or toll hike is better as it is short-term pain and one day the toll period should come to an end.

Short-term pain is better than prolonged long term-misery. If the solution is not pay compensation but increase the concession period, then we will never see the end of the toll roads.

Apart from the only reason of it being provided in the lopsided toll agreement signed by the government, there is no real economic or financial justification for ever-increasing toll rates.

After the initial period of getting back the investment and some profit, the rest of the period should just be for maintenance/upgrading and a bit of profit, so no matter what justification they dish out, there is absolutely no reason for these ever increasing

The worst part is many of these toll roads are not inter-city but intra-city, which burns a hole in our pockets faster than the tailor can stitch it up.

Apart from one or two such as the North-South Expressway (Plus) where the profits go to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and eventually the rakyat , many others are crony companies which are milking it all the way. Say you are travelling from Bangsar to Damansara Damai, you have to pass both Penchala and LDP and the return journey will be RM9 plus for such a short journey as these are open toll highways.

In Australia’s Victoria state, I believe there is a daily maximum which should be the case anywhere.