PM: Govt To Look Into TNG Monopoly Of Highway Toll Collection System

Alex Cheong Pui Yin

20th March 2023 - 2 min read

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has said that the government will look into reviewing Touch ‘n Go’s (TNG) monopoly of the highway toll collection system, given widespread public opinion that TNG’s system and service have ceased to see convincing development.

“You are right, TNG has been in operation for more than two decades. There has not been any convincing development and progress in the system. And I think you are right, we have to reconsider that,” said the prime minister during a youth dialogue session, where he was asked if there were plans to reconsider TNG’s domination of Malaysia’s transport and road systems, including highway toll collection.

Commuters and motorists are currently only able to use TNG as the sole contactless payment option when paying for public transportation fees and highway tolls in Malaysia, via methods such as the TNG PayDirect and the recent enhanced TNG card with near-field communication (NFC) capability.

Certainly, there had been previous plans to introduce other contactless payment methods; for instance, PLUS Expressway and CIMB had said before that it hoped to enable bank account, as well as credit and debit card payments for RFID back in 2019. More recently, PLUS even said that debit and credit card payments are being tested at selected toll plazas. However, none of these have yielded solid results so far.

Similarly, former Works Minister Fadillah Yusof had also previously stated that the public will soon have the freedom to use any digital payment methods when travelling. That said, this depends on when the RFID penetration hits a satisfactory rate to allow the implementation of the multi-lane fast flow (MLFF) system, as well as when highway concessionaires are ready to link up with additional online payment providers, he noted.

Current Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi also reiterated this claim, stating that the likelihood of enabling alternative cashless payment methods for RFID toll payments is quite high. However, he, too, did not share whether his ministry is in the middle of piloting any tests the implementation of such systems.

Meanwhile, there have been calls from several parties to end the current monopoly that TNG has over the highway toll collection and public transportation systems. These include the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (FOMCA).

(Source: Malay Mail)

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Alex Cheong Pui Yin

Previously covered recruitment-related stories and had a short stint as a copywriter for the property industry. She subsequently developed an interest in investment and robo-advisors.

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