‘Toll hikes to make up for 1MDB’s losses’

Amanah official says Putrajaya dares to allow the hikes only because the next general election is still far off.

PETALING JAYA: Parti Amanah Negara Strategy Director Dzulkifly Ahmad claims that the hike in toll rates is one of the ways for Prime Minister Najib Razak’s administration to get back what it has lost in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.

Speaking at a press conference today, Dzulkifly said the government was “robbing the disposable income of the rakyat” and in turn worsening the domestic economy by discouraging demand.

“They are forced to cover their financial failures,” he said. “They have the audacity to burden the people because they know that the elections are still far away and by then the people will have forgotten what they have done.”

He pointed out that the toll hikes will affect highways going through the Klang Valley, which sees a high volume of daily traffic. He said this meant that the concessionaires were already making a lot of money.

“Yet Najib is still protecting them and making the rakyat suffer,” he said.

He said the hikes would make everyone suffer because transportation is an integral part of business.

“Even the ‘mak cik’ who says the toll rates don’t matter because she doesn’t use the highways will feel the effects because the vegetables she buys from the market is brought to her through transportation,” he said.