The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says it is set to launch a probe into the multi-lane free-flow toll system (MLFF). In a statement, PAC chairperson Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin said that members of the committee unanimously agreed to initiate proceedings regarding the management of the MLFF’s implementation by the works ministry, The Edge reports.
She said that in addition to summoning highway operators to provide insights into the implementation of the MLFF system, the PAC will also summon representatives from the works ministry and the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM).
She added that the proceedings will be conducted under Dewan Rakyat’s Standing Order 77(1)(d), Treasury Instruction 301 Year 2023, and Section III Article 11 (b) General Circular No. 2 (1982), but did not elaborate on what prompted the probe into the MLFF.
The MLFF is a barrier-free system designed to replace the existing booth-based toll collection system, with an overhead gantry collecting tolls using radio-frequency identification devices (RFID) in conjunction with an automated number plate recognition (ANPR) system.
Originally supposed to be in place by 2025, it was announced in March last year that its implementation would be sped up, with the announcement of the first proof-of-concept tests at the Sungai Besi Expressway (Besraya) and DUKE coming soon after.
In July, public works minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said he hoped to get an earlier agreement with the companies so MLFF – which is estimated to cost RM3.46 billion – could be implemented by the end of 2024.
In December, a total of 32 highway toll concessionaires protested the government’s move to directly award the MLFF project to a single, private company. The concessionaires said that the “appointment agreement” with KJS-SEP Synergy, a company linked to YTL Corporation, for the project was carried out without consulting the highway concessionaires, who would eventually foot the bill.
The Association of Highway Concessionaires Malaysia (PSKLM) said it sent a letter of objection to the works ministry, stating that the move violates their individual agreements with the government. The concessionaires added that they were not comfortable with a third party undertaking toll collection on their behalf because there could be leakages that could affect overall toll collection, especially given the.private entity’s lack of a track record.
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