YOURSAY | ‘This is a strategic move by the government to penalise the urban masses.’

Toll hike suicidal, says Pakatan Harapan

Gunnerrun: Tolls are something we cannot avoid using nowadays. If your company accords you a monthly fuel allowance, it usually does not include toll.

Tolls can only be claimed for ad-hoc travels. Just going to work, one definitely cannot run away from paying tolls because it is not always possible to get a job near our homes.

There is absolutely nothing a common citizen can do if the government and the concessionaires gang up to increase tolls.

We are helpless victims, at the mercy of the whim and fancy of a government that is getting more and more desperate, callous and heartless.

Quigonbond: It’s unthinkable that the government allowed almost 100% increase in some of the toll rates.

Since the tolled roads are mostly in Klang Valley, it would look like the government is punishing KLites for voting against them. Only a vindictive, uncaring government will do this.

The highway concessionaires are no better. We see glossy pictures of corporate social responsibility activities in some of their annual reports, but they've abdicated their social responsibility over this single largest bane to public finance and health.

They waited quietly to raise hikes because it is contractually right to do so, never engaging the government to find a solution.

One wonders - if MAS (Malaysia Airlines) was too big to fail and has gone through a culling exercise by way of a special legislation, perhaps it's time to do the same with highway concessions.

Curious Observer: This suggests a strategic move by the government to penalise the urban masses who forms the majority of those who are already against the ruling party.

I wouldn't be surprised if the government announces some 'people-friendly' cash giveaways at a later stage to those mostly in rural areas.

Since it's already a lost cause in the cities, the government couldn't care less if this move was unpopular.

Doc: Yes, it looks like Najib is playing Russian roulette with the Malaysian economy. He seem to be pilling on more and more pressure on a battered economy and a depressed people.

He is playing this game to see who dies first; himself or the Malaysian people.

GE14Now!: If it really is a suicidal move then let's help him along. What else does he need for a quicker exit? That the BN has lied is no longer surprising.

Oh Ya?: Najib and Umno have committed many suicidal acts but that wouldn't translate into votes for the opposition unless and until it gets its act together and convince the voters that it is really their ‘harapan’.

Until now the voters and general public are still confused whether Pakatan Harapan is born or still-born, and whether it has actually replaced the defunct Pakatan Rakyat.

If it has, why PAS is still part of the Selangor state government when it has officially rejected Pakatan Harapan, does not respect the defunct Pakatan Rakyat's common policies, has broken up with DAP and of course, would never recognise Part Amanah Negara?

When it comes to clinging on to power, it is acting no differently from the other side. And it thinks the voters are so naive that they will support it wholesale just because they don't like Najib/Umno?

Unafraid: This government has no heart for the rakyat. It has lost its soul in the midst of all the rampant corruption that has propelled the country to heights of shame and depths of despair.

The top leader of the government is fighting for his survival. He is doing all that is within his power to cover up his misdeeds including using high-handed methods and scare tactics.

The rakyat are suffering and paying the price for voting this government into power. We have actually no one to blame but ourselves.

Pro-Najib portal wants Sosma used on toll operators

Oh Ya?: So only Dr Mahathir Mohamad's cronies (the old cronies) are to be charged under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) and their concessions nationalised?

What about the new cronies and their concessions? Some of these toll roads were approved by Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's and Najib Abdul Razak's administrations but on similar lopsided terms.

For example, it is well-documented that Maju Expressway's concessionaire was given a soft loan equal to almost 90 percent of the construction cost.

So are they going to be charged under Sosma and their concessions nationalised, too? Or are they going to appropriate the old cronies' concessions instead?

Hplooi: The trouble with MyKMU is that their criticism is one-sided.

While Dr M may have started the trends towards lopsided contract (during his era, bootstrapping Malays into top-echelon was the overriding aim) but the subsequent Umno governments carried on with this modus operandi.

In fact, the current allegedly kleptocratic regime maxed out on the regime of tax-farming. And the toll concession is a form of tax farming. Awarding the said tax farm is part of the system of rewards for political nabobs.

One nabob who is still waiting for his God-given rights is a certain Umno lawyer. Unfortunately for the said lawyer, the citizens of Selangor revolted against his concession.

P Dev Anand Pillai: They seem to forget that golden shareholders of most of these concessionaires are government cronies, so the money milked out from the people goes back into the coffers of the chosen party.

As long as we have duffers, buffoons and morons who make up most of the voting masses, there will be no change.

Anonymous_1430213195: Only now do these fools realise the implications. Before, they blamed Bersih 4 and the Chinese, thinking they are immune to the country's problems.

Very soon, the red shirts will start spitting on Jamal Mohd Yunos’ face for wrongly guiding them.

Anonymous_3f6d: Using Sosma on toll operators? Are they terrorists now?

Datuk Abdul Kadir Jasin: Maybe guys at this portal are in the state of bangang after being called bangang by Najib.

Toll increase is approved by the government. So use Sosma on Najib for allowing the increase.

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