Muhyiddin: No toll rate increase this year

PUTRAJAYA: There will be no toll rate increase this year.

The Government, which decided against the move, will pay RM400mil in compensation to the toll concessionaires, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

He said the move was among the initiatives to help the public cushion the impact from the rising cost of living.

He also explained that the agreements with the concessionaires stated that toll rates should be increased after a certain period.

“We have decided that in order not to further burden the people, the Government will compensate the companies.

“Toll will still have to be paid but users will not be paying new rates,” he said after chairing a special committee to tackle the rising cost of living yesterday.

Muyhiddin said the decision involved concessionaires handling highways in the Klang Valley as PLUS Malaysia Sdn Bhd, the operator of the North-South Expressway, had earlier announced that there would be no increase of its toll rates.

He said the Works Ministry had also been asked to look into the agreements to find out whether it could re-negotiate with the concessionaires to extend the concession periods.

“This is a long-term initiative to ensure that the rates would not be increased,” he said.

Muhyiddin said the committee also agreed to allocate RM120mil to three agencies under the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry to ensure sufficient food supply in the market.

The agencies are Federal Agri­culture Marketing Authority (Fama), National Fishermen’s Association (Nekmat) and National Farmers Association (Nafas).

They would use the fund to import selected vegetables, dried foods and sea foods and “flood” the market with the supplies which could stabilise the prices.