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Wednesday, 18 December 2013

HIGHWAY TOLL HIKE- BLOOD SUCKERS

Photo: UMNO-BN GOVT IS ALLOWING THE UMNO TOLL-CRONIES TO INCREASE TOLL RATES BY 50 SEN TO RM 2.

THE TOLL PRICE HIKE is extraordinarily large and even Works Minister Fadhillah Yusoff has acknowledged the hike may be 'DOUBLE' as the concessionaires had not adjusted their prices in 6 years.

The 15 highways that would be affected include
- the new Pantai Expressway (NPE),
- Damansara Puchong Expressway (LDP),
- Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway (Akleh),
- Western KL Traffic Dispersal System (Sprint),
- Konsortium Expressway Shah Alam Selangor (Kesas),
- Kuala Lumpur-Putrajaya Maju Expressway (Mex),
-Sungai Besi Highway (Besraya),
- Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (Smart) and
- Sistem Lingkaran-Lebuhraya Kajang (Silk).

MP for Pandan Rafizi Ramli said PM Najib Razak's administration had the power to stop a much-dreaded toll hike as they controlled most of the toll concessionaires in the country through stakes held by government-linked firms.

Rafizi said,

“The government possessed the power to renegotiate terms of the concessionaire’s contracts.

"Most concessionaires in the country had obtain immense monetary aid from the government during construction. For example, the Maju Expressway (MEX) was practically fully funded with grants worth RM 976.7 million.

" Most of the deals inked with the toll firms involved the government granting subsidies for land takeover, easy funding (through the Development Bank) and financial grants.

"As it is, they (toll concessionaires) are already making obscene profits.

"You do not subsidise obscene profiteering. The money will ultimately go back to Putrajaya's pocket."

Abdul Wahid Omar, the former Maybank CEO, handpicked by Najib as the Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, said the proposed toll rate hike, slated for next year, WAS UNAVOIDABLE because it was an "express condition" in the concession agreement between the government and highway concessionaires.

Wahid also said that the toll rate should have been effected in 2011 and if it was delayed, the government would have to fork out RM400 million in compensation from taxpayers’ money, which he added could have been used for other purposes.

Political analysts also believe Najib and his Umno ruling party were trying to dole out all the "bitter medicine" NOW before the next general election in 2018.

http://tinyurl.com/l5xxdrz

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Please thank the UMNO-BN VOTERS on 5 May 2013 for the TOLL PRICE HIKE.

Malaysian Unplug at 16:53:00 3 comments:

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