The highway toll hike announced recently would surely further burden the rakyat and further enrich the highway concessionaires. It is common knowledge that the agreements with most of the highway concessionaires are grossly one-sided and given without due tender and mostly to cronies of the government. A cursory study of the personalities involved in these companies would prove their close connections with certain strong personalities in the government.

As such, Parti Ikatan Bangsa Malaysia (Ikatan) wishes to urge the present government to seriously re-negotiate all these agreements and be very firm in their decision - if the givernment really intends to transform itself and truly serve the rakyat.

As an example, recently there was a company, owned by various personalities very experienced in the construction and operation of toll roads, which made a formal proposal to re-privatise most of these toll roads.

They were prepared to pay the government in the region RM20 billion for the takeover, promising not to raise the toll rates for a few years and many other concessions. It is obvious from this proposal that even if the government did not revise the present toll rates the concessionaires would still be reaping huge profits.

Another example is the very huge contracts that MAS was forced to sign with various companies in the supply of food and services to the airline - which was also a cause for the huge losses suffered by MAS.

When the new MAS leadership made a determined stand to re-negotiate these contracts, these concessionaires had no choice but to give huge discounts and in billions, to enable them to continue serving MAS. Again a proof that the old contracts were hugely full of abuses and cheating.

The above are also proof that if the authorities are indeed determined to re-negotiate and even prepared to face the courts, then the concessionaires would have no choice but to renegotiate and compromise rather than lose everything. The above are strong proof that the government need not raise the tolls nor pay the compensation.

The rakyat have had enough of these abuses in the past and having to pay heavily for that. If the government is sincere in wanting to serve the rakyat, then they should have the courage to re-negotiate all these agreements as they are products of serious abuses.

ABDUL KADIR SHEIKH FADZIR is president, Parti Ikatan Bangsa Malaysia (Ikatan).