Let's have some eggs for Samy, Pak Lah and highway companies

DAP in collaboration with Bandar Mahkota Cheras (BMC) Open Access Road Action Committee this morning staged another round of peaceful demonstration in front of the Office of Cheras – Kajang Highway Concessionaire, Grang Saga Sdn. Bhd., the fifteenth demonstration organized by the bodies. Unlike the previous demonstration, this time it was organized on the New Year Eve to protest against the unfair toll hike of 50% for motorists travel along this highway.

With effective from 1st January 2007, motorists travel across the 9th mile tollgate and the 11th mile tollgate will have to pay extra 30 sen for each tollgate, which work out to be an extra RM1.30 a day if motorist have to travel back and forth passing both tollgates.

More than 500 peoples, including members of DAP, residents of nearby townships i.e. Bandar Sungai Long, Bandar Mahkota Cheras, Bandar Tun Hussein Onn, Taman Indah Balakong turned up to protest against the unfair toll hike.

Also attended were DAP leaders YB Lim Kit Siang, YB Teresa Kok, YB Tan Kok Wai, YB Fong Kui Lun, YB Teng Chang Khim, Ronnie Liu and Tan Boon Hwa, chairman of the BMC Open Access Road Action Committee.

Residents have prepared a tollgate model with photos of Samy Vellu and Pak Lah pasted on it in which they later thrown eggs on the ‘tollgate’ before they demolished it.

Earlier, about 70 police had been there and they tried to stop the residents from marching across the highway to gather in front of Grand Saga office from the barricade, which was the usual location of their gathering. However the residents still managed to break through the police line and marched across to meet with the rest of the residents in front of the Grand Saga office.

Residents in BMC are badly suffered by this unfair toll hike. They have described this as ‘double-jeopardy’ as not only they have to pay higher toll but their access road to the highway is yet to open when Grand Saga Sdn. Bhd. blocked the access road with cement barricade.

Before they bought houses in BMC, residents were earlier promised by the developer of their township, Nusajaya that they would be given an access road in which they can bypass the 11th mile tollgate if they want to go to Cheras or any parts of Kuala Lumpur.

The previous fourteen demonstrations were organized to protest against the unfair closure of the road by Grand Saga Sdn. Bhd. in which such has forced the residents to travel an extra 6.7 km instead of 1.5 km while suffer from traffic jam at the Bandar Sungai Long access road before they can read the highway.