The DAP secretary-general regarded the announcement by Works Minister Fadillah Yusof yesterday on the freeze of the toll rate hike as nothing more than damage control following the recent increase in cooking oil and fuel prices.

“Clearly Barisan Nasional (BN) is exercising damage control to avoid public opprobrium by saying that the Federal Government will absorb the RM59.77 million payment in compensation to defer toll hikes.

“Even if we do not have to pay the toll hikes directly, all Malaysians will now have to pay this RM59.77 million compensation indirectly,” Lim said in a statement released today.

Tbe Penang chief minister also called into question the timing stated by Fadillah on when the Cabinet had agreed to pay the toll concessionaires a compensation in exchange for not raising toll rates until the end of next year.

“Works Minister Fadillah Yusof said that the Cabinet had on Oct 12 decided to postpone the restructuring for toll rates in 2016 and 2017.

“This contradicts his reply to my parliamentary question on Nov 1, 2016 that four highways are entitled to hike toll rates next year – Eastern Dispersal Link, Kajang-Seremban Highway, Senai-Desaru Expressway, and Guthrie Corridor Expressway,” Lim said.

Lim also questioned where the money would be coming from as Budget 2017 had no mention of any RM59.77 million compensation to toll concessionaires.

“Worse, if the government does not have the money and instead decides to extend the concession period for these four highways, are we going to see something similar to the extension of the concession period for the North-South Expressway (PLUS) by an extra 20 years from 2018 to 2038?”