YOURSAY ‘Paying out RM400 million to toll concessionaires is as good as increasing toll.’

No toll charge hikes nationwide this year

WDA: Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. The BN government promised through its election manifesto that they will reduce toll rates. They are now promising to only maintain the same rates for the next 11 months. This is still a broken promise (janji tidak ditepati).

How about some transparency here? Show us how much the concessionaires forked out to build the highways. Tell us how much was their maintenance and overhead costs for each year of operation.

Most importantly, declare how much of toll money was collected for each year of operation to date. All these numbers must be audited by an independent accounting firm.

If the report shows that the concessionaires are in dire straits, I am sure the rakyat will not mind forking out the extra money each time they pass the toll booths.

It seems fair enough but why does the BN government keep this information a guarded secret? What is there to hide?

CiViC: The increase is not delayed or cancelled. The government is "compensating" the concessionaires with RM400 million of taxpayers’ monies.

What different is that from allowing the increase? The bottom line is, cronies must be given priority!

Jae K: It is still a reprieve for the lower income group who have to use the toll roads on a daily basis. Also a relief to many more as public transport and school buses can no longer use the toll hike to increase the fares.

There is nothing we can do about the RM400 million compensation (which is taxpayers' money), not until Pakatan Rakyat takes Putrajaya. But before that, support Pakatan in the Kajang by-election on March 23.

Opah: Every time I drive my Porsche down the North South Highway, I give a virtual tip of my cap to my fellow citizens in Sabah and Sarawak.

Many years ago, Dr Mahathir Mohamad decided that the Malaysian government was too incompetent to build world class highways. So he gave the projects to his favourite cronies, complete with ironclad contracts to make obscene amounts of money.

The result is that we in Peninsular Malaysia have amazing highways while the inter-city trunk roads in Sabah and Sarawak are not even up to 20th century standards.

Now all my drives on these highways are slightly cheaper, subsidised in part by the taxpayers in Sabah and Sarawak, without a whimper from them. Thank you and keep on voting BN, Sabah and Sarawak.

Oh Ya?: Extending the concessions is to lengthen the people's burden. Is this the only alternative? Why can't the concession agreement be renegotiated?

Why can't the concessions be shortened given the traffic volume must have increased many folds compared to the initial estimation?

A case in point is LDP, which is just widening of existing roads and is always congested and jammed. Motorists are literally paying for nothing.

Why can't the concessions be nationalised? Who are the ruling elite protecting? The crony concessionaires and the Umno sub-contractors?

Bamboo: Even though I am not fully agreeable with ‘Kajang Move’ but thus far, this move has brought a few benefits.

1. Stop Election Commission's gerrymandering for a while.

2. Stop toll hike for a while.

3. Stop PKR deputy president Azmin Ali's advance to grab the post of MB in Selangor.

The sad part is the RM400 million is from of the taxes paid by us. Either way lose-lose for us, and win-win for Umno and their cronies.

Joker: Money 'saved' from reduction in fuel subsidy ended up in pocket of toll cronies. So the people of Malaysia are hit by a double whammy. They bear the brunt of price hikes and at the same time the government does not have extra savings as it has all been paid out as 'compensation'.

This government is the anti-thesis of Robin Hood. It is instead, Robbing Hood - robbing the poor to give to the rich by wearing a hood of sweet ‘Janji Ditepati’.

Now that election is over, off comes the hood and we can all see all the ‘janji’ by PM Najib Razak is worth as much as a capati that has gone past its expiry date. Because all ‘janji’ expired after the election.

Mushiro: This Umno government does not have the interest and will power to bring down prices. Paying out RM400 million to toll concessionaires is as good as increasing toll.

When they can burden the rakyat with rising costs, why can't they renegotiate terms with the toll concessionaires who are already making tons of money. Extending the concession periods is a weak negotiation tactic and will still burden the people.

Ksn: The simple solution to this problem is to nationalise all tolled highways. Pay the companies involved in instalments, make the payments from a reasonable amount charged as toll and after a reasonable period, abolish the toll.

As it is, the companies are making huge profits besides the payments made from public funds because of the lopsided contracts to cronies, vested interests like this RM400 million.

Brahman: It would be better that all monopolies given to the concessionaire, from the period when Mahathir was PM be reviewed and that the contracts can be taken back or renegotiated to benefit the rakyat, and these include the IPPs (independent power producers) too.

Extending the period only gives the concessionaires a longer period to fleece the rakyat.

Onyourtoes: These nincompoops can never get it right or they are just pretending to be stupid. Hello, compensating the concessionaires for holding back the increase in toll is still money from us, the taxpayers, can’t they get it?

Extending the concession period in return for not increasing the rates is still public money going down the drain in case they are too stupid to notice.

We are asking them to look at all the concessions. We are asking them to renegotiate the blatantly unfair and lopsided concessions. We are asking them to change the terms.

Failing which, we are asking them to nationalise all the tolled concessions based on basic risk-return valuation, not based on “crony profit” valuation.

Toll roads are risk-free business. Their profits should be capped to not more than 15 percent ROI (return of investment).

Based on 15 percent ROI, I think Pakatan-sponsored companies can buy them all. We can give reasonable return to shareholders and reasonable tolls to consumers. If they don’t understand what I am saying, just let me handle this. I can do it.

By the way, see how the Kajang by election is helping the people in Klang Valley now. No toll increase for 2014. Don’t you think more Pakatan Aduns and MPs should resign from now on - may be one should volunteer every three months or so?

Versey: Perhaps we should have another by-election before year end as a referendum to decide on the implementation of GST (Goods and Services Tax).

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