Spend on B40, M40 groups, not toll holidays, govt told

 

The government has declared nine toll-free days for the Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Christmas and National Day holidays.

PETALING JAYA: Government funds allocated for highway toll holidays should be used to help the lower and middle-income groups, according to an economist who says the government should “relook all the populist programmes”.

Yeah Kim Leng of Sunway University told FMT that although toll holidays could be helpful, the money could be better spent.

The two-day Deepavali toll holiday was reported to have cost RM37 million. The government has declared nine toll-free days for Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Christmas and National Day.

Yeah said the money could be used on aid programmes, including public transport passes for lower-income groups, or to subsidise school bus fares for children of B40 and M40 families.

Niaz Asadullah of Monash University Malaysia also said the money was better spent on promoting the use of public transport.

“This would discourage the excessive use of private cars, of which we have too many compared to our population,” he said.

However, he said the government could target toll holidays for disabled road users who needed to use their cars to get around.

Ahamed Kameel Mydin Meera of International Islamic University Malaysia said the government should opt for targeted subsidies instead of blanket toll holidays, and that this would reduce its financial burden.

“In the long run the government should take over the highways and make them free for all because transport is a basic necessity for all,” he said.

However, Lai Wei Sieng of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia said he does not see a problem with toll holidays.

“Not all government spending should be exclusively for low-income individuals. Whether they are low, middle, or high-income earners, (the majority) of road users are citizens,” he said. - FMT