KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 — Damansara MP Tony Pua has asked MCA to stop trying to attack the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government with bad mathematics and false accusations.
In a statement today, Pua defended the PH government’s restructuring of the PLUS toll rate in response to claims made by MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong.
On Sunday, Wee had alleged that Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributors will bear most of the cost of the cut in PLUS toll fares in the form of low dividends.
Pua today said this showed “MCA doesn’t know how to count.”
“Earlier this week, the MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong alleged that Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributors will bear most of the cost of the cut in PLUS toll fares in the form of low dividends.
“He argued that Khazanah Nasional Berhad and EPF, the toll operators’ only shareholders, will post lower dividends because the 18 per cent reduction announced by the government would hit profits.
“I can only tell the MCA president that just because BN was not able to, or does not know how to restructure the toll for the benefit of the people, it doesn’t mean that PH doesn’t,” Pua said in a statement today.
The finance minister’s political secretary reiterated that the new arrangement is a “win-win” formula for taxpayers, and that the PH government has succeeded in doing what its BN predecessor could not.
“The PH government is committed towards fulfilling our manifesto promises and has successfully reduced the cost of living for ordinary Malaysians, without burdening the government with higher debt and ensuring that our economy continues to get stronger with a clean, prudent and responsible government.
“The Cabinet approved the restructuring plan precisely because it comprises a win-win formula, which I had emphasised in my earlier statements,” he said.
Previously, Pua, who is also DAP publicity secretary, had stated that highway users will be able to enjoy an 18 per cent discount on the current toll rates for the remainder of the concession without any increase in future toll rates.
This, he said, contrasts with BN’s restructuring schemes where the concessions were extended but toll rates continued to rise by between 5 and 10 per cent every three years.
“The government will no longer be required to compensate PLUS for freezing or reducing toll rates, saving at least RM26 billion which can be channelled towards Malaysian all over the country, including Sabah and Sarawak, in terms of welfare and development programmes.
“And most importantly, the equity value of PLUS shareholders — Khazanah and EPF are fully protected in the restructured deal,” said Pua.
In his statement, Pua proceeded to challenge Wee to publicly apologise to the PH government for making false accusations against it, when the respective parties disclose the details of the restructuring scheme in due course.
“Will the MCA president have the honesty to do so when the time comes? Or will he twist and turn like the former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in defending BN’s failed promises to reduce toll rates?” he asked.
After months of speculation about PLUS’ future, Putrajaya said in January it would extend the concession of the country’s biggest expressway toll firm until 2058 in a deal that would see fares reduced by nearly a fifth for the current and extended concession.
This meant PLUS would remain under the control of sovereign fund Khazanah and EPF instead of being sold to private hands.
Pua had previously said the new arrangement is a “triple win” for the government and would save taxpayers RM42 billion.
The PLUS toll cutback announced just before the Lunar Year celebration was part of the PH administration’s pledge to bring down the cost of living.
But Wee suggested this was a lie in a statement earlier this week.
On February 1, 10 new toll plazas on the West Coast Expressway (WCE) officially started toll collections despite DAP issuing multiple statements previously stating that the highway would be toll-free should PH win, the MCA leader noted.
The current PLUS concession would have ended in 2038.
Detractors have criticised the 30-year extension of the concession while Putrajaya argued that Malaysians now enjoy cheaper toll rates, without needing to compensate the concessionaire or harm its value to shareholders.
