AS a fan of the unity government, allow me to offer some free advice on the issue of highway toll. 

This is a step-by-step formula for how to eliminate toll in phases.

The first step is to make toll concessions more transparent.  The government should declassify all the toll concession agreements. 

This will allow the people to access the agreements and give their feedback.

We have learnt from past experience that the government does not always make best decisions.

Many agreements are skewed towards the concession holders or the corporate sector and their shareholders. 

Tolled highways are an example of this. The government has to pay the concessionaire high compensation if toll were to be cancelled.

In the interim, the government should not raise the toll rates.

It is true that it is not feasible to abolish toll overnight. Who will maintain the highways then?

A clear maintenance framework must be in place by the time toll collection stops.

Public transport funding

Some consideration must also be given for public transport funding.

Toll collection could be used to pay for the upgrading of intercity public transport, especially train and coach services.

The public transport sector lacks funding and faces stiff competition from private cars. 

Current policy favours the growth of private car ownership.

If income from toll collection is utilised to fund public transport, maybe the people will then understand why toll must continue to be collected on some roads.

Is it true that B40 income earners mainly use old roads to avoid paying toll and are also more likely to own motorcycles than cars? 

These issues must be addressed too.

Abolishing toll charges has implications which have not been comprehensively studied and debated . 

The other question to ask is: if the government working to eliminate tolled highways, why are we seeing more new ones being proposed? 

Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam and several areas in the Klang Valley are already full of highways. 

We cannot have “spaghetti junctions” all over the Klang Valley; it will look ugly.

Also, we cannot pretend to resolve traffic congestions by building more highways. This approach will not work and is very short-sighted.

The government must put an immediate stop to any new toll highway proposal. 

That should be a final step in the government blueprint to resolve the tolled highway issue. – March 13, 2023.

* Rosli Khan reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.