Bernama reported him as saying at a weekly media briefing that the Cabinet made the decision in its meeting yesterday.

He said it was decided that the government would bear the cost, with details to be explained later by the works ministry.

In July, it was reported that highway concessionaires would receive compensations amounting to a total of RM568.92 million to defer toll hikes.

The toll hike freeze was among the initiatives announced by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on July 23, as part of what he described as “appreciation for Malaysians”.

The 10 highways involved are the Cheras-Kajang Expressway (Grand Saga), KL-Kuala Selangor Expressway (LATAR), North Klang Straits Bypass (NNKSB), Senai-Desaru Expressway (SDE), East Coast Expressway Phase 2 (LPT2), South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE), Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge (JSAHMS), Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway (DUKE), KL-Putrajaya Expressway (MEX), and Butterworth Outer Ring Road (LLB).

Works minister Alexander Nanta Linggi had said at the time that maintaining the toll rates would benefit about 941,000 users.

Separately, Fahmi said Anwar also stressed the need to expedite works to complete construction and provide medical equipment for the Sarawak Cancer Centre.

“Yesterday, we read reports that Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg also intends to channel a certain amount of funds to facilitate the acquisition of specialised equipment for the Sarawak Cancer Centre.

“The prime minister has requested that the processes be accelerated to expedite the centre’s completion,” Fahmi said.

Yesterday, Abang Johari was quoted as saying that the Sarawak government had agreed to add RM500 million for the purchase of medical equipment for the centre, bringing the total amount financed to RM1.5 billion.