PAKATAN Harapan’s plan to eliminate highway tolls and reintroduce petrol subsidies will increase air pollution in the country, said Prime Minister Najib Razak.

“Quite apart from the fact that they don’t know how they would pay for these policies, they would also encourage more cars on the road, putting more CO2 in the air and contributing to a carbon footprint that we must reduce, not increase, if our world is to be a safe environment for humanity,” he said at an event in Kuala Lumpur today.

Najib said the government had put in place certain policies that would enable the country to reduce its carbon emissions by 45% by 2030, and slammed the “cheap promises” made by the opposition.

“Our efforts in this area are seeing results. We voluntarily pledged that, by 2020, we would reduce our emissions of carbon dioxide by 40% (relative to economic output), based on the 2005 figure. And by 2015, we had already achieved a reduction of 33% – so you can see that we are very much on course.

“We are further determined to achieve a 45% reduction in emissions by 2030, and we aim to be fully carbon neutral by 2050 – proof again of our commitment to our young people and generations to come.

“These are real commitments, not cheap promises – like you will hear from some politicians who are promising less tolls and subsidised oil.”

Najib announced last year the implementation of 200 green technology projects nationwide costing RM2.6 billion as part of the government’s commitment in reducing the effects of global warming.

Prior to the 2018 Budget announcement in Parliament, PH had released their alternative budget which proposed a fuel subsidy of about RM1 billion under a system which would only benefit Malaysians.

The opposition pact also said it would abolish tolls, proposing that the government buy out all toll concessionaires in order to ensure the people benefited directly.

PH had also said it would introduce a monthly public transport pass at RM100 that will allow for unlimited use of the Rapid bus, LRT and MRT services in order to increase ridership. – December 3, 2017.