KUALA LUMPUR (July 29): The Works Ministry said on Tuesday that it is impractical and unrealistic for the federal government to abolish highway tolls altogether.
Such a move would require billions of ringgits to fund road maintenance and honour concession-related obligations, and the financial burden would divert public funds from more pressing development needs in underserved regions, said Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi.
“We can imagine the government’s limited funds would instead have to be allocated for other purposes — like in Kelantan, Sarawak, and Sabah — which still require infrastructure development,” Nanta told the Dewan Rakyat during the ministers’ question time.
Nanta was responding to a question from Datuk Che Mohamad Zulkifly Jusoh (PN–Besut), who asked about the status of the government’s previous pledge to eliminate tolls.
Eliminating tolls would require the government to secure substantial revenue even from non-users of the highways, he noted. However, if concessionaires have already met their profit or return of investment targets, he said toll rates could be lowered.
Nanta reaffirmed that while there are no immediate plans to remove tolls entirely, the government has postponed toll rate hikes involving 10 major highways this year, to mitigate the rising cost of living, especially for daily commuters.
The highways involved are operated by public-listed companies such as Bina Puri Holdings Bhd (KL:BPURI), which operates LATAR; Taliworks Corp Bhd (KL:TALIWRK), which operates GRANDSAGA and NNKSB; and Ekovest Bhd (KL:EKOVEST), which operates DUKE.
Other concessionaires include Senai-Desaru Expressway Bhd (SDE), PLUS Malaysia Bhd (LPT2), SKVE Holdings Sdn Bhd (SKVE), Ministry of Finance-owned Jambatan Kedua Sdn Bhd (JSAHMS), Maju Expressway Sdn Bhd (MEX), and Lingkaran Luar Butterworth (Penang) Sdn Bhd (LLB).
“If the toll rate hike is not postponed, highway users travelling on the 10 affected highways would experience a significant impact,” he said. “There is currently a substantial gap between the toll rates being charged to users, and the rates stipulated in the concession agreements.”
Under current concession agreements, toll rates for cars on the highways were due for increases ranging between RM0.50 and RM4.56 — or about 79% to 83% higher than current charges.
Historically, toll hike delays have usually been handled through direct government compensation to operators, without changing concession terms, and are negotiated individually.
Nanta was also responding to a separate query from Datuk Seri Mohmed Puzi Ali (BN–Pekan), who asked the Works Ministry to state the implications for highway users if the government did not postpone the toll hikes in 2025.
The toll hike freeze is one of several initiatives announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on July 23, framed as a gesture of appreciation for Malaysians. To maintain current rates, the Ministry of Finance will bear over RM500 million in compensation to highway concessionaires.
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