PKR's Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin asked if it is a "coincidence" that the government is cutting down RM459 million in allocations to maintain federal roads for the following year while it is scheduled to pay a similar amount as compensation for toll concessionaires.

"Why do away with maintenance costs but end up paying toll concessionaires?" he asked at a press conference in Parliament today.

The maintenance costs for federal roads in East Malaysia is being reduced by a massive 63 percent, while a further 30 percent is being deducted for the Peninsula Malaysia allocation.

Sim labelled the move as a case of "wrong priorities" by the Works Ministry.

"Paying compensation to toll concessionaires does not solve any problem. The real problem is the lopsided concession agreements.

"The ministry should call all the toll concessionaires to re-negotiate the concession agreements, so that this problem does not repeat every year," he added.

Works Minister Fadillah Yusof, in a separate press conference later, said that the federal road maintenance budget was slashed based on allocation given by the Finance Ministry.

"This was what was allocated to us by the finance ministry. If the government decides to allow toll hikes, we will take the extra money and use it for road maintenance and other projects," he said.

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