THE government’s decision to take over four tolled highways in the Klang Valley was planned several weeks ago, PKR president Anwar Ibrahim said in denying that Putrajaya’s announcement on the matter today was aimed at baiting voters in the Semenyih by-election.

“Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had informed me about it some two, three weeks ago.

“I don’t think (that it is meant as election bait) as the government had already held discussions about it,” Anwar said tonight after attending an event in Semenyih, where polling for the by-election will be held next Saturday.

The Port Dickson MP was responding to claims that the announcement was made to coincide with campaigning for the Semenyih state seat, which ruling party Bersatu is defending in a four-cornered fight against Umno, Parti Sosialis Malaysia and an independent candidate.

Earlier today, former prime minister Najib Razak had said the government was making the tolls announcement just to fish for votes in the polls. 

The Prime Minister’s Office had announced that toll fares on four highways would be abolished and replaced with a congestion charge at existing toll rates for peak hours.

The charge for normal hours will be at discounted rates of up to 30%, and off-peak hours between 11pm and 5am will be toll-free.

The highways are Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong (LDP), Sistem Penyuraian Trafik KL Barat (SPRINT), Lebuhraya Shah Alam (KESAS), and the SMART Tunnel.

Putrajaya has begun talks with Gamuda Bhd, which has a majority stake in these highways, to negotiate the acquisition.

The government also said the decision to acquire the highways was part of Pakatan Harapan’s promise in its 14th general election manifesto. – February 23, 2019.