The government has announced that they will be waiving toll charges on 23 and 26 December for highway users of all categories of vehicles in conjunction with Christmas.
In a statement to the media, Deputy Works Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan mentioned that the toll exemption is given to all types of vehicles at all toll plazas. The only exceptions are the toll plazas at the national border, namely Bangunan Sultan Iskandar toll and Tanjung Kupang toll in Johor.
Unity government’s effort to ease the burden of all Malaysians
He told reporters that the toll-free offer is aimed at lightening the burden of Malaysians who plan to travel home for the long weekend. As this coincides with the school holidays, it also provides an opportunity for families to return to the home villages or to celebrate Christmas with their communities.
The decision to offer to waive toll fees in conjunction with Christmas was agreed in the Cabinet meeting on 6 December. This free toll is not given by the concessionaire, it is given by the Ministry of Finance.
Toll-free initiative costs RM20 million per day
Ahmad also mentioned that giving a free toll involved a cost of RM20 million a day. Giving the toll reprieve during such a busy time involved a cost of RM40 million with an estimated 2.1 million vehicles on the highway during the Christmas holiday.
He said that for 2023, the toll exemption given during the earlier celebrations involved a cost of RM206.19 million. This is not including the toll exemption for two days in conjunction with Christmas.
He said the selection of Dec 23 (Saturday) and 26 (Tuesday) for free toll is also aimed at preventing traffic congestion on the day of the journey back to the hometown and returning to the city.
The specific selection of the two dates also serves to help optimise the operation and coordination of logistics as well as other logistics needs involving third parties along the lay-bys and rest and service (R&R) areas on the highway.
Highway users can refer to the travel time advisory (TTA) and other traffic updates provided by LLM on its social channels.
