SAME OLD MAHATHIR? WHY CONSIDER PROPOSAL FROM MAJU HOLDINGS TO BUY OVER PLUS – IF TOLL ‘STILL APPLIES EVEN AFTER TAKEOVER’? WHAT BENEFIT CAN NEW OPERATOR BRING IF IT CANNOT COME OUT WITH IDEAS FOR ALTERNATIVE REVENUE TO SPARE THE PEOPLE FINANCIAL BURDEN?

HIGHWAY toll will still apply even if the concessionaire PLUS Malaysia Sdn Bhd is taken over another entity, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.

He said the government is considering an offer from Maju Holdings Sdn Bhd to take over PLUS.

“We are looking into the proposal. They (Maju Holdings) propose that there has to be toll collection, without which they are unable to make the purchase as they will not get the returns.

“Their proposal includes a lowering of the toll rate. They want to do various other things, repair the roads… we are looking into the matter,” he told reporters after a meeting with senior civil servants in Putrajaya.

Dr Mahathir said if the government wishes to abolish toll, it has to come up with a lot of money to take over the concessionaires.

“First of all, if we don’t want to collect toll, we must buy the highway and that will cost billions and billions… and we don’t have the money.

“The other thing is, if we manage to buy, we then have to spend money to maintain the highway. So the people must understand the problem that we face,” he said.

How will the highways be maintained if toll collection is abolished, he said.

“The problem is that all highways need to be maintained, need to be enlarged sometimes, with new lanes. All this costs money.”

The government has made “no final decision” yet, he said.

PLUS operates the North-South Expressway, New Klang Valley Expressway, Seremban-Port Dickson Highway, North-South Expressway Central Link, Malaysia-Singapore Second Link, Butterworth-Kulim Expressway, and Penang Bridge.

– Bernama