Last Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the Budget 2018 and Malaysians got quite a number of positive surprises. One of these, was of course, the news that toll collections would be abolished at several toll plazas in Selangor, Johor, and Kedah from 1 January 2018. The toll stations affected were Batu Tiga and Sungai Rasau in Shah Alam, Bukit Kayu Hitam in Kedah, and the Eastern Dispersal Link in Johor.
For those who regularly use the Federal Highway, you know that the Batu Tiga toll is the cause of some of the worst traffic jams. Some even jokingly call it as a ‘huge carpark’ as drivers can be stuck at the toll gates alone for more than 15 minutes.
So when the Prime Minister announced the abolishment, many drivers heaved a sigh of relief as they wouldn’t have to go through the horrendous traffic anymore. Additionally, though the Batu Tiga toll fares are relatively cheap, with the present toll rate at RM1.10, many were happy that they would still save a small amount of money.
Sadly, the public only got to enjoy this good news for a short time. Just one day after the Prime Minister’s announcement, PLUS Malaysia Berhad released a statement saying that the toll collection at Batu Tiga and Sungai Rasau was only set to expire on 31 December 2038.
“PLUS Malaysia Berhad (PLUS) would like to clarify that based on the 2011 revised Concession Agreement, toll collection at Batu Tiga and Sungai Rasau in Selangor is scheduled to end on 31 December 2038. The announcement made by YAB Prime Minister means that abolishment of toll collection effective 1 January 2018 at the Batu Tiga and Sungai Rasau toll plazas are realised 20 years ahead of schedule.”
Now, it seems rather amusing that the country’s Prime Minister decided to make such an impactful announcement without discussing with PLUS first. This is because coming up with such a big decision would require one to discuss with all the necessary parties and see whether such an option would be a viable one. It’s surprising that Najib’s team didn’t do that and now drivers will have to wait a lot longer to know the outcome.
Following Najib’s announcement, the government said that they will not pay a cash compensation to PLUS but extend the tenure of other PLUS highway tolls. As discussions are on-going, PLUS will only make the necessary announcement upon receipt of further details from the government.
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Yes they will cease! No propagandas here please..
I think if expatgo write about touch n go new technology to be implemented (RFID) would still a better article than this. I don’t want to know about politics from you. If i want politics, I’ll read the news. Why don’t you tell me does RFID will help tourists to reach destination faster? And how is that helps?
It seems rather amusing a page for expats and this Rubaa fellow can’t seem to understand the issue at hand. The concession is supposed to end by 2018, however negotiations in 2011 extended the concession to 2038 in order to maintain the toll rate at 1.10.
Following YAB PM’s announcement, it will end in 2018 instead of 2038 – as mentioned by PLUS, 20 years ahead of schedule.
Thank you for your input! We’ll look into this matter further and update accordingly 🙂