KL says tolls cannot be scrapped

KL says tolls cannot be scrapped

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday the government could not abolish toll fees on highways as it would have to pay billions of ringgit to compensate the road builders.

"With having to pay such a big compensation, we will not only have to postpone the construction of roads but also probably the payment of salaries to government servants as there will not be enough money," the national Bernama news agency quoted him as saying.

"Why must we allow people with cars, who are actually the well-to-do, to have free use of the roads?" he told local reporters on his return from a trip to Davos, Switzerland.

At a peaceful protest against road tolls on Sunday, opposition leader Lim Kit Siang asked the government to consider abolishing tolled roads in the capital.