In announcing the hike in toll charges last month, Works Minister S Samy Vellu claimed that Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang was once allowed to pour through highway concession agreements for nine hours without finding any flaws.

However, Lim claimed today that this was not entirely true.

After Lim had raised strong objections in Parliament during July 1987 on the Letter of Intent offered to then United Engineers Malaysia Bhd (UEM) to construct the North-South Expressway, Samy offered DAP MPs a glance at the tender documents.

"We were shown a mountainous pile of various tender documents, with the voluminous sheets of various projections for traffic volume, toll rates, increases and collections as well as financing proposals, but we were not allowed to remove any documents,

"In the hour-or-so spent at the ministry, it was not possible to absorb all the details - but enough to reinforce in our objections to the most improper, irregular and even illegal award of the Letter of Intent to UEM," said Lim in a statement today.

Dreaming? Amenesia?

Lim claimed that the concession agreement was eventually awarded to UEM in March 18, 1988 and he never got to see it - because he was incarcerated under the Internal Security Act at that time.

The veteran opposition leader remarked that Samy "must be dreaming or suffering from amnesia" when he made the allegations.

On Dec 14, Samy was asked during a press conference if the government would publicise highway concession agreements for public scrutiny, to which he replied:

"I don't think you (journalists) are smarter than (opposition leader) Lim Kit Siang. Are you? I put forward the whole concession (agreement) to Lim Kit Siang for nine hours. (He was) looking at it. There is nothing there to hide.

"The opposition have seen it, everybody has seen it. If you want to see the concession (agreement), you bring your experts and I will seek permission from the government to put it forward to you. If you can't find any mistake, I will fine you RM50."

Cause of ISA stint

Lim also claimed that his suit at the Penang High Court on Aug 18, 1987 for an injunction barring government from signing the contract with UEM was the main reason he was detained under the Internal Security Act for a second time.

After a seven-month legal battle going up to the then Supreme Court, a three to two decision upheld an appeal by the government and UEM to discharge the interim injunction.

"The NSE concession contract, for which Karpal (Singh) and I were detained under the ISA during Operasi Lalang, has still to be made a public document although it was signed nearly 20 years ago," added Lim.

On Jan 1, toll prices among five highways in the Klang Valley - Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong (LDP), Kesas Highway, Cheras-Kajang Highway, Guthrie Corridor and Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway - shot up between 20 to 60 percent.

Lim also called on the public dissatisfied with the toll hikes to participate in a demonstration this Sunday. The crowd will gather at 4pm in front of the Sunway Pyramid shopping complex.