MP SPEAKS I urge Works Minister Fadilah Yusof to explain the roles of Lembaga Lebuhraya Malaysia (LLM) in the toll hike at the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex in Johor Baru. Is LLM or even the Works Ministry and, by implication, the entire Barisan Nasional government, a mere spokesperson for Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB)?

The Edge Weekly reported in its latest issue (pg 24, 38) that ‘MRCB may collect 20 percent more per month from EDL’.

The paper believes that MRCB is likely to collect RM13 million per month from the CIQ toll, far more than the erstwhile compensation of RM11 million per month by the federal government since May 2012.

From RM2.90 collected by Plus (one way), motorists now pay RM9.70 (inbound) and RM6.80 (outbound) from Aug1, i.e. an increase from RM2.90 to RM16.50, a whopping 480 percent hike. The extra RM13.50 collected goes to MRCB.

Minister Fadilah must explain whether LLM’s director-general Ismail Md Salleh was sanctioned by the government to endorse MRCB’s propaganda when he joined MRCB’s chief operating officer (COO) Imran Salim to brief media editors in Kuala Lumpur on Monday and regurgitated MRCB’s line of defence on the CIQ toll.

MRCB’s lines are simple - just stoking national fervour in the hopes of winning the hearts and minds of Malaysians outside Southern Johor.

MRCB’s propaganda pits users of Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) against users of CIQ. The argument is that those who use CIQ are those who do not love Malaysia and choose to cross the Causeway to work in Singapore. Since they make big money by working in Singapore, they deserve to pay for other road users that drive on the EDL.

But consider these points:

First, why pit EDL users against CIQ users when Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak promised that there would not be toll collection on EDL and there would not be a toll hike at the CIQ?

Second, the assumption that all who work in Singapore are well-to-do is not necessarily true. The entire logistics sector is affected by the toll hike which will have huge state-wide inflationary implications. Those who are on factory buses and other means of public transport are adversely affected as well.

Grave consequences

Third, ultimately, if The Edge Weekly is correct, the CIQ toll hike is sucking away RM13 million a month from the disposable income of ordinary Johoreans. While MRCB increases its income from RM11 million (previous compensation from the government which ceases to exist) to RM13 million, the brutal fact is that all the RM13 million comes from depletion of disposable income hence domestic demand in the local economy of Johor Baru and beyond.

The consequences for the ordinary citizen are grave.

The question for Minister Fadilah is whether LLM and even the entire government is a mere spokesperson for MRCB’s propaganda effort.

LIEW CHIN TONG is member of Parliament for Kluang and Johor DAP chairperson.