Press Statement By DAP Secretary-General And MP For Bagan Lim Guan Eng In Kuala Lumpur On 2.11.2016.
The Budget 2017 Is A Gross Failure For Not Addressing The Rising Cost Of Living Caused By Up To 62% Increase In 5Kg Bottles Of Cooking Oil, 48% Increase In Petrol Prices This Year And Impending Rise In Toll Rates Next Year As Well As Reduced Incomes Caused By GST And Depreciation Of The Ringgit.
The Budget 2017 is a gross failure for ordinary Malaysians by not addressing the rising cost of living caused by up to 62% increase in 5kg bottles of cooking oil, 48% increase in petrol prices this year and impending rise in toll rates next year as well as reduced incomes caused by GST and depreciation of the Ringgit. Malaysians are already suffering from the rise in petrol prices by 15 cents yesterday and the shocking revelation in the newspapers today that the prices of cooking oil for 5kg bottles will go up by as much as a low of RM6.95 or a high of RM9.10.
This means that each Malaysian may have to pay as much as RM50 extra per year. For a family of 5, this means an extra RM250 annually, which is more than the increase of RM200 BR1M payments announced in the 2017 Budget. What is the point of RM200 increase if the BN Federal government takes back RM250? Clearly BN Ministers are sleeping on the job if they feel that the rise in cooking oil prices will have no impact on the livelihood of ordinary Malaysians.
DAP expresses deep disappointment at the reply by Works Minister Fadillah Yusof to my parliamentary question yesterday that four highways are entitled to hike toll rates next year:-
Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL),
Kajang-Seremban Highway (Lekas),
Senai-Desaru Expressway (SDE), and
Guthrie Corridor Expressway (GCE).
Fadillah said that if the toll hike was deferred the Federal government would have to pay toll compensation for the four highways in 2017 for RM59.77 million. As the 2017 Budget did not provide for any toll compensation payments, ordinary Malaysians will have to bear the full brunt of the toll hikes.
Fadillah also said the North-South expressway was built in 1989 and was completed in 1994 at a cost of RM5.9 billion, which was fully borne by the concessionaire, except for costs incurred in land acquisition that was covered by the government. According to the original agreement in 1988, Fadillah said the highway concession was supposed to end in 2018 but it was then extended to 31 December 2038.
Fadillah said until the end of 2015, the overall toll collected for the North-South Expressway alone was RM36.39 billion. The total amount of compensation paid out to Plus following the deferment in toll hikes until 2015 was RM917.1 million.
This RM36.39 billion collected from Malaysians is 6 times more than the construction cost of RM 5.9 billion.
Even if we consider Fadillah’s explanation of the concessionaire having to spend 45 to 50 % from their earnings for loan repayment, overheads and operations (20%), as well as for repairs and upgrading (15 to 20 %), they have fully realized their capital investment and is only blindly earning profits. By right, toll collection should be abolished.
Malaysians must be allowed to use the North-South Highway free of charge if the BN Federal government is a people-centric government. Unfortunately BN only looks after its cronies to earn extraordinary profits at the expense of 30 million Malaysians by allowing the North-South Highway to continue unjustifiably to collect toll.
LIM GUAN ENG
民主行动党秘书长兼峇眼区国会议员林冠英于2016年11月2日在吉隆坡发表的声明：
2017年度财政预算案根本没解决人民生活成本飙升的问题，是一个彻底失败的财政预算案。人民生活成本随着5公斤罐装食用油涨幅高达62%、汽油在今年内涨价48%、明年的过路费收费率将调涨、收入随着消费税的实施而缩水，以及令吉贬值等因素而加重。
2017年度财政预算案根本没解决人民生活成本飙升的问题，是一个彻底失败的财政预算案。人民生活成本随着5公斤罐装食用油涨幅高达62%、汽油在今年内涨价48%、明年的过路费收费率将调涨、收入随着消费税的实施而缩水，以及令吉贬值等因素而加重。马来西亚人民昨天已经受到汽油涨价15仙的影响，然后又在今天的报纸上看到令人震惊的消息：即5公斤罐装食用油的涨幅介于6令吉95仙至9令吉10仙之间。
这意味着每一名马来西亚人，每年必需多承担50令吉的费用。以5人一个家庭为计算单位，每个家庭每年需多承担250令吉，这比2017年财政预算案宣布增加200令吉的一马援助金相比还要多。如果国阵联邦政府最终将会从人民的口袋中拿回250令吉的话，政府增加一马援助金200令吉又有什么用呢？要是国阵领袖们认为食用油涨价对一般的大马人民没有影响的话，那很明显的，他们都在睡觉。
民主行动党对公共工程部部长法迪拉昨日给予我的国会提问所提供的答复感到很失望，因为他说明年将会有4条大道可以调整过路费，即：
柔佛州东部疏散大道（EDL）
加影芙蓉大道（LEKAS）
士乃迪沙鲁大道（SDE）
和牙直利走廊大道（GCE）
法迪拉说，若大道延迟调整收费，联邦政府于2017年就得对4大道做出5977万令吉的赔偿。而在2017年的财政预算案之中，并未预留赔偿金予大道公司，换言之，普罗百姓就得自行承担大道涨价带来的冲击。
法迪拉也称，南北大道在1989年动工，1994年完成，耗资59亿令吉，并由特许经营权者完全承担，而征地所产生的成本则由政府负责。法迪拉指出，根据1988年的原版合约，特许经营公司到2018年就会届满，但过后被延迟到2038年12月31日。
法迪拉说至2015年底，单是南北大道所收集的总过路费是363亿9000万令吉。截至2015年为了阻止大道过路费调涨共赔偿给大道公司9亿1710万令吉。这所收到的363亿9000万令吉的过路费已经高过建造费用59亿令吉的6倍。
即使我们把法迪拉解释中提及的45至50%特许经营商所赚到的用以清还贷款、日常支出及行政（20%），还有维修及提升（15至20%），他们之前的投资成本早已回本，现在只是盲目的赚取利润而已。其实，过路费应该要取消掉才对。
如果国阵联邦政府真的是以民为本的政府，大马人必须能够免费使用南北大道。很不幸的，国阵只会照顾他的朋党，非常不公不义地继续让他们收取过路费，从3000万大马人的花费中赚取超级丰厚的利润。
林冠英