KUALA LUMPUR: Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng hit back at the opposition on the latter's criticism on the federal government’s decision to lower the toll rates on Plus Malaysia Bhd's highways while extending the concession period.
In taking the Barisan Nasional (BN) to task, Lim said it didn't manage to lower the toll rates when the party was in power.
Instead, he said the previous government had extended toll concessions from 2018 to 2038 but did not negotiate to have the toll rates reduced.
He said BN had never implemented an 18 per cent discount for private vehicles using Plus highways.
Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had criticised the government, saying Plus highway toll rates were never increased after 2005.
He had said his administration had abolished 11 tolls in total, including those in Sarawak.
To this, Lim said the government was not only looking at abolishing several tolls, but also focusing on Plus, which was the major highway in Malaysia.
He said BN government had allowed privatising profits which benefited concessionaires, while PH was more focused on giving back such profit to the community, done through negotiations, including reducing the toll rates.
The government had recently announced the move to reduce the toll rate by 18 per cent on several highways under Plus Malaysia Bhd, the first to be implemented in the country, despite the extension of the concession period from 2038 to 2058.