Its president, Wee Ka Siong, said this was because Pakatan Harapan (PH) would “probably” need to pay compensation of RM20 million yearly to the toll concessionaires to ensure this.

“This RM20 million is the same as PH’s collection of petrol tax every day quietly by not reducing petrol prices by 30 sen per litre over the past two months,” he said in a statement today.

“Can (Finance Minister Lim) Guan Eng explain this?” the Ayer Hitam MP asked.

The abolition of tolls for motorcyclists on these three routes came into effect yesterday, following Lim’s announcement during the tabling of Budget 2019 last year.

Yesterday, Lim explained that the abolition would see a financial implication of about RM20 million a year.

He said it was only a first step since PH could not abolish all toll charges immediately given the country’s financial position, which he alluded to the 1MDB scandal.

“We will continue to work (on abolishing tolls). If the fiscal position is better than expected, there could be more good news.”

Bernama had quoted Lim as saying that PH would be able to improve its fiscal position in three years’ time.

Asked whether all tolls would be abolished then, he said PH would continue to work towards this.

Wee said Lim had previously poked fun at Barisan Nasional’s (BN) promise to abolish motorcycle tolls on the Penang bridges, yet PH made a pledge to do so if it won the May 9 general election.

Motorcyclists entering the island used to pay a toll of RM1.20 on the first Penang bridge and RM1.70 on the Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Bridge.

The abolition of tolls is expected to benefit 22,000 motorcyclists daily.