PARLIAMENT | The 10 percent surcharge for using the Touch 'nGo card at parking facilities will be abolished in phases, said Deputy Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Chong Chieng Jen.
However, Chong told the Dewan Rakyat this will take time pending the expiry of existing surcharge-based contracts between Touch 'nGo and parking operators but new contracts will not carry the surcharge.
He was responding to a question from Wee Ka Siong (Ayer Hitam - BN) who questioned the various charges imposed by Touch 'nGo, including the 10 percent surcharge on parking facilities and 50 sen reload fee.
"The 10 percent for parking fees is a burden to the people," he said.
Responding to this, Chong said the 10 percent surcharge practice was "inherited" from the previous government but the current government is working to do away with it.
"That is the policy we inherited from BN, now we are correcting it. We want to abolish the 10 percent surcharge but we are constrained by existing contractual obligations.
"As I have mentioned, when the existing contracts expire, they (surcharge) will no longer be imposed. So it has to be done in stages," he said during Question Time.
He said at present, the surcharge is only imposed at parking facilities where payment can be made using either cash or Touch 'nGo card and therefore the latter is considered an alternative convenience.
"At parking areas which only has Touch 'nGo infrastructure as a payment method, no additional charge is imposed," he said.
As for the 50 sen Touch 'nGo reload charge, Chong (above) said more than 2,000 of the 11,168 reload points do not have such charges.
"An analogy for Ayer Hitam to understand better is, for example, if we have a Maybank account and we withdraw money from a Maybank ATM, there would be no charges.
"But if we go to CIMB for the convenience (to withdraw money using a Maybank ATM), then there would be a charge. That is the rationale behind it," he said.
He added that the 50 sen charge is not imposed by Touch 'nGo but by merchants that choose to offer the reload services.
"Reloading without any charges can be done at a number of Touch 'nGo service counters at TNG Spot as well as stores such as Watsons, Guardian, Tesco, KK Mart and Caring Pharmacy, which number more than 2,000 outlets," he said.
Chong also disagreed with Wee's assertion that Touch 'nGo was a monopoly.
"The government is of the opinion that Touch 'nGo is not a monopoly in the e-money market as there are other players such as MCash, Boost, GrabPay and Alipay," he said.
However, Edmund Santhara (Segamat - Pakatan Harapan), likened Touch 'nGo to a "cartel" and ask if the government will consider a takeover of the company.
"It's almost like a cartel... It is a cartel. Is your ministry prepared to propose to the Economic Affairs Ministry for the government, Employees Provident Fund (EPF) or Khazanah to take over so that the profits can be redistributed to the people?" he said.
However, Chong said this was a decision for the cabinet and he would forward the suggestion. - Mkini
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