MP SPEAKS Following the electricity tariff hike announced on Dec 2, 2013, Malaysians will be slammed with a major hike in highway toll charges involving 13 highways from Jan 1, 2014.

BN justifies the increase in toll charges by arrogantly asking Malaysians to use alternative, shoddy toll-free roads instead of admitting to selling out the interests of ordinary Malaysians and small businesses to satisfy the insatiable greed of its cronies.

If Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Wahid Omar can urge motorists to choose to use alternative routes if they were unhappy with impending increases in highway toll charges, Malaysians can ask why they were not given the freedom not to choose these toll concessionaires that were granted without open competitive tenders?

NONE The double standards of the BN government . It could afford to pay RM400 million in compensation for not increasing toll charges before the 13th general election, but is not able to afford to pay this sum now that GE13 is over.

Despite signing the contract, the BN government can still escape from the unfair terms by renegotiating a new contract. BN has continued to claim that the scheduled toll hike is done in accordance with the contract and that it is the government's duty to honour the sanctity of the contract terms - or to pay huge compensation.

Renegotiating toll contracts were done before

We should be reminded that barely three years ago, on Oct 15, 2010, then first-term PM Najib Razak announced a five-year cap on toll rate for the North-South Expressway and four other associated expressways when tabling the 2011 Budget in the Dewan Rakyat.

The BN government then claimed success in renegotiating a new deal with PLUS, so that a five-year freeze on toll increase was put in place.

For this reason, BN should not lie that highway contracts cannot be renegotiated to stop toll rate hikes by companies that have recouped their investments or construction costs when BN has successfully renegotiated such contracts in 2010 to forestall toll rates increases in preparation for the 2013 general election.

Further, beyond 2015, when the moratorium period expires, toll increases will be fixed at a ‘milder' five percent every three years, as opposed to the original 10 percent. PLUS will also waive RM6.2 billion in compensation claims against the government.

The five-year 2010 moratorium shows us that the federal government can do a lot more by renegotiating more acceptable deals for the rakyat, rather than succumbing to the insatiable greed of cronies for excessive profits.

Let us take Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong (LDP) as an example. The road users are paying RM1.60 for each toll and it may increase to RM2.00 or more.

puchong toll protest 040207 ldp poster The LDP concession holder, Litrak, made RM127.2 million of net profit, on top of RM370.7 million of revenue (the revenue includes RM86.5 million in compensation paid by the federal government for keeping the toll rate unchanged in 2012) for the financial year 2013.

Even without the government's compensation payment, Litrak will make at least RM41 million as net profit. For the past five years, Litrak's cumulative net profit was close to RM500 million, with RM1.65 billion as revenue.

Year on year, revenue and profits have been growing at about five percent and profit after tax is within the range of 30 to 35 percent. All this was achieved without any toll hike.

Don't use toll roads

It is difficult to believe that Wahid is not aware of the excessive profits enjoyed by BN crony companies when he has a banking background. But, as a rich banker, perhaps Wahid is not aware that for many Malaysians, toll roads are their only routes.

Whenever it is possible to do so, Malaysians drivers are doing their best to bypass toll and jammed highways. This has contributed to only further traffic complications along the trunk roads and smaller roads in the housing areas.

We have 27 private toll expressways nationwide, with a total length of about 1,500 kilometres, operated by 20 companies. At least one-third of these toll roads are concentrated in the Klang Valley.

With public transport usage in the urban areas only at 20 percent, how is that possible for ordinary Malaysians to avoid travelling by cars and paying tolls, no matter how unwillingly? Our BN ministers, chauffeured around in their tinted saloons and escorted by convoys, are disconnected with the everyday sufferings of an ordinary Malaysian.

By raising fuel and sugar prices, electricity tariffs, and soon to be followed with by hikes in toll charges, school bus fares, bus and train tickets prices as well as the up to 300 percent increase in assessment charges in Kuala Lumpur, the increase in the yearly Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) to RM650 for each family with a monthly household income of below RM3,000 will rendered ineffective and meaningless to the poor income groups.

Worse still, middle class families that are not qualified for such assistance will even be worse off with the spiralling price hikes.

Such inflationary effects are a sign of poor mismanagement by the BN government and will only make inclusive economic growth even more elusive.

LIM GUAN ENG is the MP for Bagan and also the chief minister of Penang.

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