Genting should call its proposed road fee ‘vehicle charges,’ not toll, to avoid confusion – Ahmad Maslan

Genting Malaysia should refrain from using the word “toll” to describe its proposed road charges on vehicles using Jalan Genting Highlands in the future, said deputy works minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan. He said that doing so could cause confusion as the term is usually associated with highway charges and would make it seem like a government project, when the initiative is a private project, the Malay Mail reports.

“Since it’s a private road and, as the ministry mentioned before, it will be under the state and local councils’ purview, I hope if they do decide to go ahead, they don’t use the word toll. It can be confused with the 33 other existing toll concessionaires. Maybe they can change it to vehicle charges,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat.

Genting Malaysia had on November 13 announced that it would soon impose private road charges on vehicles entering Jalan Genting Highlands, with details on this to be revealed at a later date. The company said the move to impose a road charge was necessary due to the steep and escalating costs of maintaining the 24 km-long private road and its slopes, which it said has been borne solely by the company since the 1960s.

It said that heavy usage of Jalan Genting Highlands has resulted in a “tremendous amount of wear and tear,” and requires constant maintenance to ensure the safety of the road users. It added that the private road charge is the most sustainable path to defray the cost of upkeep, repairs, maintenance and other unforeseen incidents.

Ahmad said that those who want to go up to the resort for some entertainment should be charged, but hopes the price will be reasonable, because if it was not, it could deter tourists. He suggested that Genting staff, residents and landowners along the route should be exempt from these charges. “Perhaps those with land there, the staff working up there and even those living there, as well as those going to Institut Aminuddin Baki, don’t need to be charged,” he said.

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