At the stroke of midnight to end 2017, the tolls on the Shah Alam highway finally closed for good.

But not everyone was euphoric at the end of the Batu Tiga and Sg Rasau toll plazas, announced earlier by Prime Minister Najib Razak in his Budget 2018 speech.

While the millions of road users celebrate, some of the toll plaza employees do not share their joy.

“I’m sad, after having worked here for 15 years.

“There are too many memories to recall. There were bitter ones and happy ones,” Sg Rasau toll employee Jemaah Abdul Hadi (photo), 38, told Malaysiakini.

Another employee at the same plaza, 40-year-old Fuziah Mohd Yassin, was feeling down when met.

“I’m stressed, I can’t speak,” she said after being informed of her transfer to Seafield toll plaza this month.

Mohd Hasbullah Hashim (photo), 29, said he accepted the move despite feeling sad.

“It’s sad as we have served here long, but this is what the people want and they are happy with it, so we accept it,” he said, adding he will be transferred to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) toll plaza after taking a short break.

Najib in his budget speech announced the abolition of four tolls in Selangor, Kedah and Johor beginning today.

There had been numerous calls through the years for the tolls in Shah Alam to be closed after they were first erected in 1993.

The other two tolls closed are Bukit Kayu Hitam in Kedah and the Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) in Johor.

The Works Ministry said yesterday they were shut down 20 years earlier than the stipulated period in the North-South Highway (Plus) concession agreement.

However, Bernama reported that government compensation to Plus for the tolls in Selangor is estimated to be RM102 million annually, while the Bukit Kayu Hitam toll will cost an estimated RM8 million in compensation.

Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua estimated the concessionaires of the four tolls would stand to make "astronomical" profits.

"Assuming the compensation doesn't increase over time, it will still cost a whopping RM2.36 billion.

“However, this compensation amount will be even higher when it is calculated based on forecasted toll usage in the future,” he said last November.

‘Harapan, don’t take credit’

Meanwhile, Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Noh Omar warned Pakatan Harapan leaders not to take credit for the abolishment of the toll plazas.

“The Selangor Menteri Besar (Azmin Ali) need not beat his chest. (Shah Alam MP) Khalid Samad too,” said Noh at an event in Shah Alam earlier last night to celebrate the toll closures.

“They gathered here when I passed by. Never mind, that’s how the opposition is.

“I believe when the tolls are closed later, they will make it sound as if they were the ones who had championed this,” he said.

Last night, roughly 100 BN supporters gathered at the Sungai Rasau toll plaza, chanting “thank you BN” and “long live BN”.

Some vehicles passing through the tolls responded by sounding their horns.

Selangor Pakatan Harapan members also gathered at the toll plaza, led by Batu Tiga assemblyperson Rodziah Ismail.

Approximately 100 supporters chanted “abolish tolls” and “free the people.”