There will be no highway toll charge hikes nationwide for the whole of this year, the government announced in Putrajaya this evening.
It will instead fork out RM400 million as compensation to the highway concessionaire companies, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin (left) said.
Muhyiddin said the cabinet decided that the government should negotiate with the concessionaires to ensure concession agreements could be revised and to keep the rates at existing levels.
"So, there won't be any toll hike in 2014 as rumoured," he said after chairing a special committee meeting on living costs in the federal administrative capital.
Muhyiddin said that the government is prepared to consider extending concession agreements to keep toll rates from escalating in the future.
He said that the compensation will be handed out only to concessionaires in the Klang Valley region, as companies there were due to increase toll rates this year.
The government, he said, made the decision after admitting that toll hikes is one of six major factors that contribute to rising costs of living in the country.
"The other areas are fuel, energy, food items, transport and housing," Muhyiddin said.
He said that the government has now taken in suggestions made by Performance Management & Delivery Unit’s (Pemandu) lab on living costs, and is considering those suggestions which will then be brought to the cabinet.
"(On the) Other issues we are not ready to disclose yet, as they require further discussion," Muhyiddin said.
Despite promising in its election manifesto to reduce intra-city toll rates if they won the election, the government caused an uproar, even from within their own ranks, when they admitted several tolls are due for a hike this year.
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak previously warned that the government will need to pay compensation to concessionaires if they do not increase the toll rates.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Wahid Omar also caused an outrage previously when he said that those who disagreed with the toll hikes can use "alternative", non-tolled routes instead.
It will instead fork out RM400 million as compensation to the highway concessionaire companies, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin (left) said.Muhyiddin said the cabinet decided that the government should negotiate with the concessionaires to ensure concession agreements could be revised and to keep the rates at existing levels.
"So, there won't be any toll hike in 2014 as rumoured," he said after chairing a special committee meeting on living costs in the federal administrative capital.
Muhyiddin said that the government is prepared to consider extending concession agreements to keep toll rates from escalating in the future.
He said that the compensation will be handed out only to concessionaires in the Klang Valley region, as companies there were due to increase toll rates this year.
The government, he said, made the decision after admitting that toll hikes is one of six major factors that contribute to rising costs of living in the country.
"The other areas are fuel, energy, food items, transport and housing," Muhyiddin said.
He said that the government has now taken in suggestions made by Performance Management & Delivery Unit’s (Pemandu) lab on living costs, and is considering those suggestions which will then be brought to the cabinet.
"(On the) Other issues we are not ready to disclose yet, as they require further discussion," Muhyiddin said.
Despite promising in its election manifesto to reduce intra-city toll rates if they won the election, the government caused an uproar, even from within their own ranks, when they admitted several tolls are due for a hike this year.
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak previously warned that the government will need to pay compensation to concessionaires if they do not increase the toll rates.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Wahid Omar also caused an outrage previously when he said that those who disagreed with the toll hikes can use "alternative", non-tolled routes instead.
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