“It costs the Govt RM35 million a day” – Zahid Hamidi Defends Scrapping Free Tolls During Festive Seasons

The free tolls during festive seasons are no more, with the federal government announcing that Malaysian road users won’t get free tolls anymore, including for the upcoming Chinese New Year.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi recently explained the decision, saying that giving toll-free access during festive seasons doesn’t actually fix the traffic jams on toll highways.

Planning trips better during festive seasons

Sinar Harian reported that Zahid urged road users to change their mindset and plan their trips better during festive seasons.

He mentioned that the Cabinet decided to stop toll-free access after a recommendation from the Minister of Works, Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi.

“The government’s compensation to toll concession holders is over RM35 million a day. While it doesn’t involve cash payments, the concession period has to be extended, which still doesn’t fix the congestion on toll highways,” he said.

Christmas 2024 was the last holiday with toll-free exemptions

The government announced that Malaysian road users won’t be getting free tolls during holiday seasons anymore, including for the upcoming Chinese New Year on January 29, 2025.

This was confirmed by Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi, who mentioned that the toll exemptions would be replaced with a “more targetted approach“, and would be revealed soon.

The Minister also clarified that this decision wasn’t recent and was actually made last year.

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Also read: No More Free Tolls During Festive Seasons, Including This Upcoming CNY, Says Federal Govt