I humbly beg to differ with VK Chin who wrote in The Star on Dec 22 that the 10 percent increase in toll rates by Plus was justified.

His contention is that a decision has been made and we have to bear with it no matter how unfavourable, simple as that. Even though as admitted by him: 'It may have been a lop-sided contract as the concessionaires are protected from losses resulting from managing the project'.

I am baffled as to how such a situation can happen, when the interests of the people should come first before any agreement between the government and a private company. Why weren't the people consulted? Are the Barisan Nasional MPs aware of the terms of the Plus contract?

Obviously, the common people for generations to come will have to bear this burden. It must be remembered that increase is not a one-off thing and there will be many more to come as the highway concessionaires are allowed to an increase their toll rates at regular intervals. Otherwise, the government will have to compensate them (read from the taxpayer's pocket).

Instead of sympathising with the consumers, Chin makes them look like spoilt brats who always asking and never giving. We are talking here about the majority of consumers who are just plain common people driving cars which are several years old.

A car is a necessity nowadays and it is not a luxury unless you are driving a brand new BMW or Maybach .

I am not surprised when Chin mentions diplomatically that people have the option of using federal or state highways without paying tolls.

Yes, Chin is right in suggesting that the people can boycott the North-South Expressway, but when the NSE incurs heavy losses, who are the ones that will compensate the concessionaire? At the end of the day, it is still the taxpayers' money that will be used for the compensation.

The issue now is not so much of whether the toll rate increase is justified or not, or whether to extend the concession period to reduce the burden on the people. All this measures are short-termed and eventually the burden is still on the taxpayer in the medium and long term.

A mistake need not be allowed to carry on in perpetuity. Could not the government buy back the NSE and re-tender it openly to the highest bidder? And of course with much better conditions attached which while allowing the winning company some profit, would also not forsake the interests of the people.

Consumers do not mind paying for a service but within reason. It is a win-win situation when the company makes healthy profit, the people are happy with the reasonable rates and the government gets a reasonable tax from the company's profits.

This is the time for the BN MPs to act for the people. Making some noises every time there is a toll rate increase but not following up on it in the long term is not solving the problem. After all, it is their duty to see this toll problem solved for it is the people who voted them in.

I hope good sense will prevail and we should look at a long-term solution rather than piecemeal one.

To quote Chin, the hundreds of millions of ringgit (RM154 millions to be exact) saved could jolly well be spent on rural development and alleviating the plight of the hardcore poor.

If worse comes to the worst, the government should take over the running of the NSE. There then would be no need for it to compensate anybody. After all, it is already a profitable venture.