Private sector cannot abolish toll, so why privatise Plus highway? - Azmin
Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali said there is no reason for the government to privatise Plus Malaysia Bhd as it is not possible for the private sector to reduce or abolish tolls on that highway.
"Why do you want to privatise it? We do not want to burden the people and road users.
Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali said there is no reason for the government to privatise Plus Malaysia Bhd as it is not possible for the private sector to reduce or abolish tolls on that highway.
"Why do you want to privatise it? We do not want to burden the people and road users.
"If you were to sell (to the private sector), can those who buy it guarantee that they will reduce or abolish the tolls?
"Of course not, because for the private sectors, they have a profit-oriented approach.
"They want to buy something that can bring in profits. We (the government) are not about profit," Azmin told reporters in Parliament today.
He explained that currently Plus is owned by Khazanah Nasional Berhad which has a 51 percent stake and Employees Provident Fund (EPF) which has a 49 percent stake.
As per the Harapan manifesto, Azmin said they wanted to discuss with the concessionaires about reducing the burden on the rakyat in stages.
"But if you sell Plus to the private sector which will charge toll and increase the fare, this will not fulfil our manifesto.
"Khazanah and EPF, they want to serve the road users.
"So unless there is someone from the private sector who wants to buy Plus but also abolish the toll, good luck to you," he said.
Earlier today, Khazanah managing director Shahril Ridza Ridzuan (below) said they were not in the mood to sell Plus, which is the country's biggest expressway toll firm.
"We are not in the mood of selling the asset and we actually haven't got any kind of bidding process going on," he had said.
However, Azmin said the government has accepted proposals for a takeover of Plus, though he is not sure whether this proposal was presented directly to Khazanah or not.
"It's true that the government had received several proposals but these proposals have to be fine-tuned by Khazanah and Plus first before the government decides," he said.
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had previously said the offers by the private sector so far are not attractive enough as they do not reflect the future prospects for the highway operator.
So far, there have been four acquisition proposals from the private sector; Maju Holdings Sdn Bhd, private equity fund RJR Capital, Widad Business Group and a joint offer from businesspersons Halim Saad and Wong Gian Kui.
