 KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 — Two PAS MPs claimed today that the goodwill from taking over Malaysia’s highway operators will increase Putrajaya’s image among the global market, instead of doing the opposite as a minister claimed today. The two opposition lawmakers said the highway deals between Putrajaya and the operators — which are classified information — are lopsided and unfair towards the public. They insisted that any step towards remedying the problem will be well-accepted by both the local and international community. “If it were to be done by the government, it will enhance and elevate the government’s image, not weaken it in the lens of global business world,” Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad told reporters outside Parliament here. “The people and the international community observing the government want fair things, not those which only benefit the cronies.” This comes as Putrajaya claimed earlier today that it will take over RM400 billion to take over all toll concessionaires, which is too high a cost. According to Khalid, the exorbitant amount shows the abundant profit currently being reaped by the operators, as the number was based on their projected profits. Works Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof also said the takeover could also be seen as a nationalisation effort, which will tarnish the government’s image among the capital market and foreign investors, in his written reply today to a question from PAS’s Sepang MP, Mohamed Hanipa Maidin. The government explained that up until 2012, it has compensated the operators RM2.8 billion in order for them to not hike toll rates. “It looks it is obviously impractical and not profitable when the government has to delay toll hike by always having to pay in damages,” the Sepang MP said. According to Hanipa, there has to be some mechanism for Putrajaya to takeover without burdening the public, as any deals signed between them must have provisions to protect the public. He also pointed out that the government, through its investment arms, hold controlling shares in the operators, and would be able to buy back the minority shares to reduce the RM400 billion cost. Hanipa also pointed out to the proposal by Tan Sri Halim Saad’s Idaman Saga Sdn Bhd to take over operator PLUS Expressway Bhd last month, which allegedly could save Putrajaya up to RM40 billion. After promising to hike toll rate in order to rein in its chronic budget deficit, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced a freeze for 2014 instead after the decision proved unpopular with the public. This prompted financial service firm Credit Suisse to issue a warning in February that any major U-turn of Putrajaya’s financial reform measures may risk further downgrade on Malaysia’s debt rating. MMail
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