Why Is Penang BN chief still supporting unjust 1st Penang Bridge toll?

Penang BN chairman Teng Chang Yeow should not lie about Pakatan Harapan's manifesto on our promise to abolish highway tolls in phases (Penang BN chief hits out at Lim over toll collection remark - The Star)

. Naturally, the first highway tolls to be abolished are those highways where toll collections have their exceeded combined capital investment (construction expenditure, maintenance and operating costs).

Nationally, the North-South Highway should be amongst the first highways to have their tolls abolished, as toll collections has far exceeded combined capital investment. And yet toll collection continues until 2038. As for Penang, the highways tolls to be abolished first are those such as the Sungai Nyior toll and the First Penang Bridge.

Teng should stop lying about our Harapan manifesto on abolishing tolls, but instead explain why BN has not abolished toll collection on the First Penang Bridge. This is a classic case of the “guilty party accusing others of the wrongdoing” or “the thief shouting thief”.

It is a great injustice that toll collections on the First Penang Bridge have exceeded more than RM1.7 billion, far exceeding the combined capital investment of RM1.5 billion, and yet the concessionaire can collect toll up to 2038. In other words, the toll operator is blindly making clean profits on the First Penang Bridge until 2038, at the expense of consumers, even though they have got back every single cent of their investment.

As for the Second Penang Bridge, toll collections are still insufficient to cover its combined capital expenditure. Therefore the Second Penang Bridge will not be amongst the first highways to have their tolls abolished when Harapan takes over. Tolls on the Second Penang Bridge will be abolished eventually, after the first batch of highways have their tolls abolished. This is consistent with our Harapan manifesto.

Harapan is responsible in displaying a prudent economic approach, and Harapan makes promises that we can deliver. Harapan will not make empty populist promises that will make the country go bankrupt because unlike BN, Harapan refuses to buy the general election.

Teng contradicts himself when he asks why I pledged to abolish the toll for the First Penang Bridge but not the second one. After attacking me for not abolishing toll on the Second Bridge, he asks who will use the Second Penang Bridge after the tolls on the First Penang Bridge are abolished.

Teng should realise that the usage of the First and Second Penang Bridges is determined both by distance and location of where a journey begins, and the intended destination. Despite the higher toll for the Second Penang Bridge as compared to the First, many still use the Second Bridge for those in Seberang Perai Selatan and those going to the south-west district in the island. There will still be people using the Second Penang Bridge, even if tolls in the First Penang Bridge are abolished.

Why is Teng stubbornly supporting the unjust collection of tolls on the First Penang Bridge? Teng is more concerned about protecting BN’s private political interests than public interest by refusing to support the abolition of toll collections on the First Penang Bridge.

The people shall decide on 9th May, whether abolition of toll collections in the First Penang Bridge for all vehicles is better, or only the abolition of tolls for motorcycles.

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LIM GUAN ENG is caretaker Penang chief minister and DAP secretary-general. - Mkini