The government appears to have given up the urban vote when it allowed highway concessionaires to hike the toll rates in 16 out of the 18 highways in the Klang Valley, said an opposition lawmaker.

"It seems like this is the case," DAP Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming said today.

"But this is a dangerous course for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to pursue as many rural people live in the urban areas,” he told Malaysiakini .

"There could be a backlash," he said.

Meanwhile, BN Backbencher Council deputy chairman Bung Moktar Radin said he expected urban votes to drop due to the highways toll hike.

"Of course, the urban voters would not vote for BN, so let it be.

"Let these city dwellers decide for themselves. I am not bothered," said Bung,who is also Kinabatangan MP and Umno supreme council member.

"If I am allowed, I will tell the government to forget about the urban areas. But the government of the day is a responsible one [...] it takes care of everyone,” he said.

The government loves the urban people, but in a responsible way, he added.

'Reveal the directors'

Bung blamed Pakatan Harapan, the PKR-led Selangor government and PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, for the toll increase.

Anwar was former deputy prime minister and finance minister from 1991 to 1998 before he was sacked.

"Anwar was the one who signed most of the highway agreements during his tenure as finance minister," claimed the MP.

He also implied that the Selangor government had benefited from the latest spate of toll increases when it permitted the concessionaires of the highways in the state to hike the rates.

He urged the concessionaires to reveal their directors.

"One of the (Sprint's) directors is an MP (PKR Subang lawmaker Sivarasa Rasiah)," he said adding it was clearly the state government that had benefited from the toll hike.

Sivarasa (photo) was appointed as the director to represent Kumpulan Perangsang Selangor (KPS), a minority shareholder of Sprint.

KPS is a subsidiary of state-owned Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Berhad (KDEB), which holds 6.07 percent stake in KPS.

Sivarasa has claimed he objected to the toll hike. However, he pointed out that KPS is only a minority shareholder, with a 20 percent stake compared to Gamuda Group's 80 percent.