THE public will still have to pay for tolls through the government using their taxes even if tolls are abolished, said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. 

He said there will always be criticism from the public because tolls are not abolished but the government still has to pay for the tolls even if the abolishment takes place. 

“People have to understand that although they do not have to pay for tolls, the government still does. 

“And the government will pay the tolls using the people’s money. In the end, they would still pay for it although it is through the government,” he told reporters in Klang today. 

He said the government had to buy the highways and that money will be collected from taxes paid by the people. 

“To cancel all the rates becomes too expensive. We need to buy the tolled roads. 

“But when you buy, you have to raise money and service the loans,” he said. 

He also said there will be road works that the government would have to spend on. 

With the taxes that will be collected to pay for road maintenance, Dr Mahathir said the government would not have enough funds for other projects. 

“This means some of the amount collected from taxes will be used to fix the roads. The government will lack money for other projects,” he said.

The government recently announced its plans to take over four tolled highways and replace tolls with a congestion charge which will vary between peak and non-peak hours.

During the off-peak period between 11pm and 5am, commuters will travel on the highways for free.

However, at other “normal” travelling hours, commuters will enjoy discounted rates up to 30% compared to existing toll rates.

The Prime Minister’s Office said the government had commenced talks with Gamuda Bhd to negotiate the acquisition of the four highways.

The highways are Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong (LDP), Sistem Penyuraian Trafik KL Barat (SPRINT), Lebuhraya Shah Alam (KESAS), and SMART Tunnel. – February 25, 2019.