One of the many reasons why many would choose to balik kampung early for the holidays is to avoid traffic. Many would agree that sitting in your car for hours on end is torture. There are many factors that cause these congestions and one of them is the highway tolls.
There have been many complaints about the toll stations as well as the Touch ‘n Go monopoly. Not everyone can afford to reload their cards every time nor is it convenient to reload. Even the former CEO of the Kota Buku Corporation, Mutalib Uthman has something to say about it.
Recently, Mutalib Uthman took to Facebook to express his frustration over the Touch ‘n Go monopoly. In the lengthy post, he urged the government to abolish it saying, “Out of all the monopolies out there, the Touch ‘n Go monopoly should be the first thing the government should eliminate”. The MUDA political party member listed down 10 reasons why the system should no longer be used in Malaysia. In his words, he said:
- “The RFID lane is supposed to facilitate traffic yet it’s the most jammed. The sensors are too slow to detect and it’ll sometimes take 3-4 tries to get through.
- It’s rather dumb that you can’t reload your Touch ‘n Go card online.
- Why can’t we use TnG eWallet on PLUS highway? Why can we only use it on regular highways? Can you explain this?
- When you do reload your TnG eWallet, you can only use it after 30 minutes (this is the case for Smart Tag tolls).
- The new Touch n Go NFC cards take too long to restock! Do you print only 5 cards a month?!
- The reload services are almost always offline, you can’t use debit cards for the self-service kiosks, and if you reload at petrol stations, there is a service charge of 50 cents.
- Paying for parking using a TnG card has a 10% surcharge.
- When you’re low on balance, you can’t even reload at the parking space! What makes it even more frustrating is when the toll guy gives you an annoying squint when you asked about wanting to reload. Then why open a toll lane at the side in the first place?!
- If you want to reload a TnG card at a petrol station, you can’t even pay via card or QR Pay, only cash. Thing is, people no longer carry much cash these days.
- Every TnG Card has an expiration date and it feels like you’re asking for charity when you need to refund the expired card”.
Netizens weigh in on the issue by commenting on the Facebook post. Scrolling through the comments section, many seem to agree with Mutalib’s statement regarding the Touch ‘n Go monopoly issue. At the time of writing, there has been no response from the government nor from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
What do you think? Should the Touch ‘n Go monopoly be abolished?
Sources: Facebook
