Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has urged former premier Najib Abdul Razak to stop “deceiving” the people when comparing the state of toll concessions under BN and Pakatan Harapan.
Najib had alleged on his Facebook page that the rakyat would end up paying more for tolls under Harapan than during his administration.
BN previously extended the PLUS toll concessions from 2018 to 2038 and decided that toll rates would increase by five percent every three years.
Harapan decided last week to extend the concessions for all Plus highways by another 20 years but cut toll rates by 18 percent. It also decided to freeze toll fares at the discounted rates until 2058, when the concessions end.
Asked today, Lim said that the graph presented by Najib was inaccurate.
“You cannot do a straight-line calculation...
“He (Najib) does a straight-line calculation. For him, if it benefits, he talks in a straight line. If it doesn’t benefit, then he talks in a crooked line.
“You got to do your numbers right ... don’t try to deceive again.
“Jangan cuba menegakkan benang yang basah (don’t try to defend the indefensible),” he said during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.
Pressed if toll road users would indeed pay more under Harapan’s plan, Lim said the government would only know after Plus announced how it would implement the government’s plan.
“You got to look at the discounting... When you discount (toll rates) over so many years, there is a discounted value also.
“Don’t forget that under the original terms, there is also an increase (of five percent every three years).
“Let’s get the numbers when the details are fully announced by Plus,” he answered.
Plus is presently engaging the government over the scope and mechanics of its plan ahead of the proposed Feb 1, 2020 implementation date.
Kelantan can pay for cars but not salaries?
Meanwhile, asked if his ministry had approved a tax exemption for the Kelantan government’s purchase of 14 Mercedes Benz, Lim said no.
“I do not know if they went through customs, but I did not give any approval for these purchases,” he said.
Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Mohd Amar Abdullah previously said that the state government had obtained a “50 percent discount” for the vehicles because no tax was imposed.
Amar had also denied that the PAS-led state government had used any of its RM400 million one-off allocation from Putrajaya for the luxury cars.
Back in Nov 2019, Putrajaya had given the state a RM100 million loan to help it pay its civil servants.
Asked today if he would consider extending such assistance again should Kelantan need it, Lim said the government would make a decision should the need arise.
“We will cross the bridge when we come to it...
“We do not want to sacrifice the interest or benefits of civil servants because they are not guilty nor have (they) done anything wrong.
“The only question that arises is why are they able to afford to buy luxury cars but not able to afford to pay civil servants?” he asked. - Mkini
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