GE13: 200 hold peaceful protest urging abolishment of Lanang bridge toll

SIBU: A peaceful protest urging the state government to abolish toll on the Lanang bridge was held here.

Dudong assemblyman Yap Hoi Liong and DAP’s Lanang candidate Alice Lau led some 200 people in the protest, which lasted half an hour.

Yap told the press that the toll was a burden to the people, especially those who have to use the bridge everyday from the Sarikei side going into this town.

“Because of the toll collection, it has hindered development in areas in the Sarikei side. There are still plenty of land which remained undeveloped. We want toll collection to be abolished immediately. This is the call from the people.”

Yap said by right the collection of toll should not have been imposed as the construction cost of the bridge had already being paid to the contractor by the state government.

“Thus the collection of toll at the bridge is unreasonable and unacceptable since the cost of the bridge has already been fully paid to the contractor.”

Last year alone, a total of RM12mil was collected from motorists crossing the bridge compared to the annual grant of just RM2mil from the government to this town, he added.

The contractor for the bridge, he said, was given 30 years concessionary rights by the government to collect toll. It has been seven years now that motorists have been paying toll.

Yesterday’s protest was the third by the opposition party.-thestar online