Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced on February 5, 2014, a moratorium on toll rate increase for 2014.

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 — Putrajaya will not raise any toll rates this year, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced today to quash fears that charges were on the verge of going up at highways across the country.

Announcing the moratorium after chairing a meeting of a the Cabinet’s special committee to tackle the cost of living, the deputy prime minister revealed that the move will cost Putrajaya some RM400 million in compensation for highway concessionaires.

“So, there won’t be any toll hike in 2014 as rumoured,” he was quoted as saying by news portal Malaysiakini.

Muhyiddin said the committee today resolved to direct the Works Ministry to explore the possibility of renegotiating existing contracts with the highway concessionaires to keep toll rates unchanged.

“If there are terms that both sides can agree upon, including extending the concession period as a means to ensure that toll rates will not be raised in future, these can be discussed,” national news agency Bernama reported Muhyiddin as saying.

Rumours of across-the-board increases to toll rates for Malaysian highways began after photographs purportedly of an official document detailing new charges that will be imposed in 2014 began circulating late last year.

Confusion later arose when a newspaper reported Works Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof as saying increases of up to RM2 would come into effect for 15 highways across the country come January 1.

Fadillah later denied the report.

But subsequent reports that the matter was being studied by Putrajaya had led to opposition lawmakers taking aim at Putrajaya for considering the hikes after a series of subsidy cuts and price increases since September.

In January, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak told the public not to jump to conclusions regarding the possible toll charge increase.

“Do not assume that the government is completely insensitive to the plight of the people,” he said when opening the Sungai Buaya tiered interchange at the Sungai Buaya toll plaza near here on January 9.

He said that between 2008 and 2011, the government paid compensation amounting to RM459 million; in 2012, RM329 million and in 2013, RM343 million, to highway concessionaires following the deferment of the toll rate increase.

He said apart from undertaking the toll rate compensation, other measures taken by the government to lighten the burden of the people included reducing toll at several toll plazas.

Putrajaya formed the special committee to tackle the cost of living on January 15 following public complaints of increasing prices.

Among the roles of the committee was to coordinate the policies and programmes of the various ministries and agencies involved in easing the burden of the people.