Former state executive councillor Datuk Jimmy Low Boon Hong, 72, who held numerous portfolios such as tourism and local government, shares his views on the toll hike.
He is now the president of the Kluang Chinese Association and chairman of the Johor Area Rehabilitation Organisation (Jaro).
THE toll hike at the Causeway has brought back a flood of memories of the good old days for me.
In 1984, both the toll plazas at the Senai highway and the Causeway were put up at the same time for northbound and southbound traffic respectively.
In March 2004, the Senai toll was abolished by the Federal Government.
The question is how much money has been collected through the toll and how little upgrading have road users seen over the past decade?
When I was the state executive councillor helming the public works portfolio, I was always at loggerheads with the then Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu over the toll issue.
Singapore has announced that it would also be coming up with new rates in the next few weeks.
This is in line with the republic's long-standing policy of matching its toll charges at the Causeway and Second Link to those set by Malaysia.
My suggestion is for the toll booth to be moved away from the Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex.
This will save Singapore the trouble of having to implement revised toll charges.
If the government wants to collect tolls for the 8.1km Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL), then impose a toll fee on all the 180,000 to 220,000 motorists who ply it daily, instead of only the 60,000 who use it to get into Singapore.
Collecting RM3 each from 200,000 cars would amount to a bigger collection than collecting RM16.50 from 60,000 motorists.
But of course, the better solution would be to just do away with the toll at the CIQ and concentrate only on imposing the Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) fee for Singapore-registered cars.
When I was in office for more than two decades, the Federal Government had twice proposed that a VEP be implemented but the proposals were rejected by the state government.
. This time it was the state government that had asked for it, and our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak gladly agreed to it on July 16 when he was in Johor Baru.
Do you all still remember the three-quarter petrol tank ruling which Singapore had imposed on Singapore-registered cars, and how the republic had fervently highlighted all the crimes in Johor Baru? Do you know why Singapore had to resort to this?
Because Singaporeans were flocking to Johor for everything from food to Brylcreem. Need I even say more?
And Johor welcomes this tourist influx from across the Causeway.
I remembered how Johor, with the help of former Transport Minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, had set up green lanes to make it convenient for the tourists to come here.
This new toll hike, in my opinion, is going to bring short-term detriment to Singapore. But in the long-term, it is the Johor economy that will bear the brunt.
In the past few days, traffic flow across the Causeway has been smooth. It is not the toll hike that is scaring the Singaporeans away. I have friends who tell me they are fearful of another strike at the Causeway like the one that occurred on Aug 1.
In fact, some Singaporeans who have come here in the last few days have said that they don't mind the toll hike and were happy because the smooth ride has enabled them to save time and petrol.
If lorry operators were to go on strike, Singapore can always get their vegetables and poultry from places such as Vietnam, Australia and Batam, Indonesia.
Lorry operators may contemplate this move because they are imposed toll charges per trip, unlike the case of Singapore where they have to pay monthly toll charges, which enables them to come in and out as often as they like.
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