SUNGAI PETANI: The Kedah state government hopes to implement the Road Charge (RC) system on foreign-registered vehicles entering Malaysia through its two border entrances earlier than the date proposed by the Transport Ministry.
Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Ab Aziz Kaprawi announced on Tuesday that the RC system will be in force in the state by the end of next year.
Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah said that the state welcomes the plan, but hopes it will be implemented by early next year, or the middle of next year at the latest.
“Why must we wait until the end of (2017)? We (would like) it to be implemented earlier,” he said after launching the Bukit Banyan Township project here this morning.
The township project, the third developed by Paramount Corporation Bhd here, will offer a mixed-range housing scheme, from low-cost to premium-cost homes for buyers.
Also present were Paramount Corporation Bhd chairman Datuk Teo Chiang Quan and the Kedah Housing, Local Government, Water Supply, Water Resources and Energy and Human Development Committee chairman, Datuk Badrul Hisham Hashim.
Bashah said the state welcomes the RC, as it will benefit from the charge collected from the foreign vehicles.
“If what will be implemented here is similar to that in Johor, then Kedah will also be entitled to RM5 from every RM20 collected.
“We could spend the money on road maintenance works and other projects that will bring benefit to the people here,” said Bashah.
Aziz was reported as saying in Penang that the government will impose RC on foreign-registered vehicles from Thailand by the end of next year.
He said the implementation will be similar to the one used at the Causeway and Second Link in Johor.