After a lapse of almost more than a year, residents of Bandar Mahkota Cheras (BMC) today demonstrated once again to seek the removal of a tolled road in their area.

cheras mahkota protest 050709 05 Some 50 residents gathered at about 9.30am to urge the government to remove the toll which has long been a thorny issue.

The residents claimed that toll operator Grand Saga Sdn Bhd had made enough profit from the toll and should now give back the road to the residents for free access.

The last protest over the issue by these residents in May 2008 resulted in a bloody battle with the police moving in to forcibly disperse the crowd, and in the process a number of protesters were injured, including some opposition MPs.

This morning however the protest ended without any incident.

cheras mahkota protest 050709 03 The police were present with the light strike force unit on standby and their orders for the residents to disperse were obeyed by the demonstrators.

The crowd, which included DAP's Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai and BMC ‘open road' committee president Tan Boon Hwa, dispersed after gathering for about 15 minutes.

They had later reconvened at the nearby DAP service centre.

They make enough money

In his speech, Kok Wai said it was the right time for the government to take over the toll concession as Grand Saga had made enough profit since the road was opened to traffic on Sept 15, 1999.

According to him, the concessionaire agreement between the government and Grand Saga in 1995 showed that the company was entitled to collect toll until 2027.

cheras mahkota protest 050709 04 "However, the construction (of the roads) only cost them RM296 million but by the end of 2006, they have managed to collect RM290 million," he said ( right ).

He added the high amount of toll collection was caused by ‘underestimation' of traffic flow made by the concessionaire to the government, resulting in them to construct extra toll collecting booths at Batu 9.

"In the agreement, Grand Saga projected, for example, an increase of 10,000 units of cars a day on average... but now the real increase shows that the traffic volume much higher," he said.

Kok Wai added that in 2004 alone, the number of vehicles that used the Grand Saga expressway skyrocketed to 187,000 units a day.

"Besides, taking over the highway will not cost as much as paying compensation to Grand Saga if the toll prices are reduced," he said.

Long standing issue

The residents of BMC have been protesting against Grand Saga for several years now.

The last round of protest last year was on the closure of the free access road by Grand Saga.

mahkota cheras grand saga road barricade fru assault 280508 07 The access was closed by Grand Saga under the direction of the Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) due to a legal dispute between Grand Saga and the developer of Bandar Mahkota Cheras, Narajaya Sdn Bhd.

Things turned ugly when the residents tore down the barricade put by Grand Saga over the access road. And the residents continued to demolish the barricade every time it was rebuilt by Grand Saga.

On May 30, the cabinet ordered the access road to be kept open until the court decides on the matter.

VIDEO l 3 mins

SPECIAL REPORT: The Grand Saga in Cheras