NAJIB TO LAUNCH BN ELECTION PORTAL TOMORROW

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak believes people can see and feel the efforts and sincerity of the Barisan Nasional government to ease their financial burden.

He said all promises and actions by BN were not to win votes, but for the people’s interests.

“Several tolls have been abolished since 2009, including four (tolls) today (yesterday). Toll rates continue to be controlled although the concession agreement demanded that they be raised, a legacy of one or two former leaders,” he said on his official blog, www.najibrazak.com, yesterday.

Najib said the toll collection at the Batu Tiga and Sungai Rasau toll plazas in Selangor, the Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) in Johor and Bukit Kayu Hitam in Kedah was abolished effective yesterday.

He said the government would continue to listen to the people’s pulse and help them with various infrastructure projects, such as the toll-free Pan Borneo Expressway, rail projects and incentives, as well as welfare aid.

Najib said such efforts would be continued by the BN government because it wanted people to benefit from the country’s development.

“I still remember the time when I announced this matter (abolishing toll) when tabling the 2018 Budget.

“It was noisy; more so with opposition members busy thinking how they wanted to exploit the announcement for their political interest. Some say this abolition of toll is a result of their effort, when in fact, it is Umno that fought for it, together with BN component parties and government leaders.”

According to Najib, there were parties who claimed that the toll concession agreement had expired or that it should have been abolished earlier, when the agreement showed that there were tolls that were abolished 20 years earlier than scheduled.

He said there were parties attempting to worsen the situation by saying that the abolition of the toll only inconvenienced the rakyat.

“Possibly, they did not see the congestion at the toll areas, or they could not count the number of people who can now save in not having to pay toll.” Bernama