Abdul Rahman Dahlan may be minister for urban well-being, but his proposal for motorists to head to work early so they can use non-tolled roads, is a downer for quality of life.

"This is what is already happening. People who are staying in Rawang (and working in Kuala Lumpur) are leaving home after subuh (dawn) prayers and going back after dark (to avoid traffic jam).

"Is that the life recommended by the BN government?" National Consumer Complaints Centre board of trustees member Muhammad Shaani Abdullah asked.

The National Consumer Complaints Centre is an entity of the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca).

Abdul Rahman, who is urban wellbeing, housing and local government minister, reportedly urged motorists to leave earlier in the day, so they can use non-tolled roads following toll rate hikes of up to 100 percent on 15 Klang Valley highways on Oct 15.

Caught in a bind

"That is just unacceptable advice... the problem is concession agreements. If we don't resolve that, we don't resolve anything," he said.

He said Malaysians were also caught in a bind because opting for public transport instead of driving was also not easier on the wallet.

LRT, Komuter and Monorail fares will go up by up to 102 percent starting Dec 2.

However, some LRT and Monorail trips will see a fare reduction of up to 23 percent, not including discounts.

Muhammad Shaani said that with the fare hikes some trips cost almost double the petrol cost of a compact car in per kilometre terms.

Left with no other option, perhaps the only way is to take up Abdul Rahman's challenge in the spirit of consumer boycott, he said.

"I've stopped driving to Pahang so I don't have to pay tolls. I now take the express bus," he said.

Indeed, there is already a small movement among KL-ites to set their navigational system to ‘avoid tolled roads’ to boycott concessionaires.

Muhammad Shaani added that with more courteous driving, trunk roads will be able to cater to the volume of motorists.

While bad road designs have led to bottlenecks, he said, queue-jumping is also cause for traffic congestion.

"The responsibility of the consumer must also be highlighted.

"There is no point fighting with this kind of 'live with it' comments if we cannot fight on principle," he said.