PETALING JAYA: There will be more cash for personal expenses while business operating costs are expected to drop following the latest announcement of cuts to toll fares, say groups.
Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Nivas Ragavan said the move would allow the rakyat to have more disposable income for their daily necessities.
Businesses involving logistics and transportation would also benefit tremendously from the move as this would save on operating costs, he added.
“The move would surely ease the rakyat’s burden because what they have to use for toll from their daily disposable income can now be used for personal expenses,” he said.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that the government had agreed to reduce the toll fares for six expressways in the Klang Valley.
He said the government had also agreed to the restructuring proposal of the four concession companies under Projek Lintasan Kota Holdings Sdn Bhd (Prolintas).
The restructuring exercise will see the government saving as much as RM8.8bil in compensation to be paid to the concession companies.
The expressways are the Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway (AKLEH), Guthrie Corridor Expressway (GCE), Kemuning-Shah Alam Highway (LKSA) and the Kajang Dispersal Link Expressway (SILK), which will come into effect at 12.01am on Oct 20.
Also reduced is the toll for the Kajang-Seremban Highway (Lekas) and the Sungai Besi Expressway (Besraya) under IJM Corporation Bhd from Jan 1, 2023.
Nivas said the RM8.8bil saving could be channelled to the rakyat by providing more subsidies, especially on food items.
The cut in toll fares, he added, would help in stimulating the economy.
Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia president Abdul Halim Husin concurred saying the toll reduction would ease the pressure faced by the rakyat amid increasing living costs.
He said with transportation mainly involved in mobilising goods from one place to another, the reduction would make the prices of goods cheaper as businesses could cut on costs.
“This move would further accelerate the economic growth in Malaysia, especially for businesses in the city,” he said.
Abdul Halim urged the government to also consider taking similar move to other tolls outside of Klang Valley, such as along the main highway connecting the north and south of the peninsular.
“It could ensure cheaper cost to transport goods from cities to rural areas,” he added.
Junior executive Aliya Syamir, 23, said she now had to fork out at least RM300 in toll every month to commute to work.
“The alternate route without toll is too packed and I have to spend over an hour driving to the office during peak hours.
“Using tolled routes takes a shorter time but comes with extra costs. The reduction would be a great help for me as a person who just started working,” said Aliya, who lives in Kuala Lumpur.
She said with the money she could save, she could spend this on other expenses such as car maintenance and put funds aside for the future.
“A few hundred may seem small now but it won’t be small in the future,” she said.
A retiree, known as Lim, 63, said he always avoided tolled routes to save on cash despite having to spend more time on the road.
However, with the government’s decision, Lim, who is from Cheras, would now consider using expressways.
As a real estate planner who needs to travel a lot for work, Syameer Faiz, 25, spends RM200 monthly on toll.
“When we talk about saving money, it is very apparent ... I spend RM200 on toll, which I can use instead to pay for other utilities,” said Syameer, who lives in Petaling Jaya.
