Langkah ini membuat Najib dan kroni2nya tidoq tak lena...

Pakatan Rakyat melalui kerajaan negeri Selangor akan menolak cadangan kenaikan kadar tol melalui saham yang dimilikinya dalam tiga syarikat konsesi lebuh raya, kata Ketua Pembangkang, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Kerajaan negeri Selangor memiliki 30% saham dalam Lebuhraya Kesas melalui PKNS manakala 20% dalam Lebuhraya Sprint serta Lebuhraya Damansara-Pucong (LDP) melalui Kumpulan Perangsang.

Pada sidang medianya hari ini, Anwar berkata, beliau berbincang dengan dengan Menteri Besar Selangor, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim dan mereka mencapai kata sepakat untuk menggunakan saham minoriti itu bagi membantah kenaikan tol.

"Saya difahamkan perkara ini akan dibawa ke mesyuarat Exco hari ini dan arahan akan dikeluarkan kepada wakil kerajaan dalam konsortium berkenaan untuk membantah kenaikan tol ini," katanya.

Semalam, 15 lebuh raya, kebanyakannya sekitar Kuala Lumpur, dilaporkan akan menaikkan kadar tol antara 50 sen hingga RM2 bermula 1 Januari tahun depan.

Sementara itu, Menteri Besar Selangor, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim mengarahkan lembaga pengarah Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor (PKNS) untuk menghalang kenaikan tol di lebuh raya negeri itu.

Abdul Khalid berkata, langkah tersebut diarahkan bagi memastikan rakyat negeri tersebut tidak terbeban akibat kenaikan tol di Selangor.

"Melalui GLC kerajaan negeri memiliki pemilikan saham tetapi bukan majoriti yang tidak lebih 30 peratus dalam beberapa konsesi lebuh raya.

"Kita mengarahkan ahli lembaga pengarah dalam PKNS untuk membuat beberapa cadangan meminta syarikat konsesi tidak menaikkan kadar tol tersebut demi menjaga kepentingan rakyat," katanya pada sidang media di pejabatnya di Shah Alam.

Abdul Khalid berkata, PKNS memperolehi pulangan yang sudah mencukupi daripada pegangan dalam syarikat lebuh raya negeri itu.

"Kita rasa PKNS sudah mendapat pulangan baik dan tidak perlu tingkatkan keuntungan menerusi kenaikan tol,” katanya. 

Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim bagaimanapun mengaku keputusan terakhir akan dibuat lembaga pengarah lebuh raya berkenaan dan bukan keputusan kerajaan negeri.- TMI

'Naik atau tak, konsesi tol tetap untung berganda'

Selangor to block toll hike at state highways...

The Selangor government will be using its position as main shareholders in highway concessionaires for three highways in Selangor with the goal of halting the planned toll hike.

According to Selangor economic advisor Anwar Ibrahim (left), Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has agreed to do so by issuing a directive to government representatives in the highway concessionaires to not support the hike.

The highways concerned are the Shah Alam Expressway (Kesas), Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP) and the Western Kuala Lumpur Traffic Dispersal System (Sprint).

"We are sending a message to the federal government that they can do the same with their government-linked companies (GLCs) who own shares in the highway concession companies.

"If the Selangor government can choose to forego profits (to its GLCs by blocking toll hikes) then the federal government can do so, too," he told reporters.
The state holds 30 percent of the Kesas concessionaire through its investment arm PKNS, and 20 percent of both the Sprint and LDP concessionaires via state-owned Kumpulan Perangsang.

Strict terms for three new highways

On top of blocking toll hikes for the three highways, Selangor will also impose strict terms for three upcoming highways - the Damansara-Shah Alam Highway (Dash), the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) and the Kuala Lumpur Outer Ring Road (Klorr).

The terms are:

• Approval to build will only be given if the federal government and concessionare arrive at a profit formula that is fairer to the rakyat; and

• Take-over of land and related administration matters will only be allowed if a fair toll rate is set and there is accountability to the Selangor people.

Referring to a statement made by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Wahid Omar, Anwar said the government cannot simply use the clause prompting it to pay compensation for not allowing toll hike as an excuse.

He said there are numerous other provisions that sided with the concessionaires, which the government could use to its advantage and stop the toll hikes by leaning on concessionaires in the people’s favour.

He said that this was successfully done by the Finance Ministry and Treasury officers from 1994 to 1998, despite pressures from “ministers representing concessionaires and the concessionaires themselves” to raise toll rates.

Elaborating, PKR director of strategy Rafizi Ramli, who was also at the press conference at the PKR headquarters, said these provisions include subsidies and grants provided for the construction of the highways.

“For example, the Maju Expressway (concessionaire) received a government grant of RM967 million to construct the RM1.5 billion highway...

“We gave them RM900 million here, et cetera, and so now if they want to talk about the provision to raise tolls, (we can say) pay back the RM900 million,” Rafizi said.

The government, he said, cannot say that it will hit legal strife if it does not honour the concession agreement, since the shareholders in the concessionaires are government-linked companies.

“It is left pocket to right pocket. The shareholders include Permodalan Nasional Bhd, Khazanah Nasional Bhd. Will they sue the government?

“As shareholders and the government can work out an agreement where the toll hike is forfeited as the profits are sufficient.

“The issue of being sued does not arise. How can a government entity sue the government? This can only happen with the crazy BN government,” Rafizi said.

Works Minister Fadillah Yusuf (left) has confirmed that toll rates at 15 highways will go up by 50 sen to RM2 on Jan 1, but the exact quantum has not been fixed.

Abdul Wahid, meanwhile, has come under fire for saying that the people have the choice of using trunk roads if they do not want to pay higher tolls.

Meanwhile, BN’s Kepala Batas MP Reezal Merican Naina Merican today reminded the government to keep to the “spirit of its promises” over the toll hike issue, pointing out that the BN government had promised in its election manifesto to reduce intra-city tolls.

“Specifically BN had promised to the people, to reduce intra-city tolls in stages (in the election manifesto),” Reezal Merican said in a statement today.

“I hope that (Prime Minister) Najib Abdul Razak would look into this matter more comprehensively,” he said.

He said that the proposal to hike toll rates must be relooked into, because no matter the quantum of increase, the people would still be burdened. 

Reezal Merican also said that the Works Ministry must make public its study on the restructuring of the toll charges at the Besraya, LDP, and NPE highways respectively.- malaysiakini

Why toll hikes when operators make fat profits?

Antara akujanji dan manifesto UMNO/BN PRU 13 dulu...

cheers.