For Whom Do The Tolls Toll?

Malaysian road users can breathe a temporary sigh of relief at the news that toll charges will not be raised for four major highways next year. Better than nothing, right? Well, it's not if you are one of the users of the other six highways slated for an increase...

The notion of ever increasing toll charges have touched nerves on many a Malaysian driver; the toll increase early this year sparked protests and called into question the one-sided agreements signed between the government and toll concessionaires. When it was called for the agreements to be made public, the Official Secrets Acts were used as an excuse to keep them secret. I just wonder what secrets are they hiding within those tomes? The names of the beneficiaries probably? Well I wouldn't put it past them...after all isn't the Malaysia Boleh rallying cry apply here too?

Back to the present: Public Accounts Committee chairman Datuk Shahrir Samad's suggestion that the government buys back the highways from the concessionaires seem to be a good idea - after all, the government is paying through the nose in compensation anyway. But our learned Works Minister said that it was too expensive to do so...

Let's see now, if we value the shares of PLUS at RM 4.00/share (which incidentally is about 20% premium to its current share price) the cost of takeover would be only RM 20 billion. What? Only RM 20 billion? Is it really that costly? Hmmm...you know there's always Petronas...after all where are all their profits going to? At RM 20 billion, they can afford it at their current proft level! After that, all the other concessionaires could probably be bought for another RM 20 billion. This still leaves Petronas some loose change...

Of course this is a simplistic view of things. But if you could spend hundreds of billions of ringgit for the various corridors as well as other mega projects, why not just spend a fraction to reduce the burden of the people? It's not that it is too expensive. There are vested interests that have to be protected and sustained - it is as simple as that. And to hell with the Malaysian people...

And oh, let us not forget the wastages of the current government thus far would have paid for the purchases on its own: the Perwaja Steel rip-off, Bank Bumiputra scandal, MATRADE building fiasco, Port Klang Free Zone white elephant, the Navy offshore patrol boat prolonged project, blah blah... And what do I hear of this 3 billion ringgit investment fiasco our Chief Justice-to-be Zaki Azmi was involved in?

So, please don't tell us it's too expensive. We could, and can still afford it. Make the right decision, and there may still be hope for BN.