Wednesday June 18, 2008

Plan to abolish road tax eventually

PETALING JAYA: Road tax will be reduced gradually and abolished.

Transport Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat said the ministry was studying the possibility of abolishing road tax.

“I will bring the issue to the Cabinet, and if they agree, private vehicles will be the first to benefit,” he said.

Ong said the rebates given out in lieu of the fuel price increase was not enough to ease the people’s burden in the long term.

On June 4, the Government announced a RM200 reduction in road tax for private vehicles above 2000cc and RM50 for private motorcycles above 250cc.

Also announced were rebates of RM625 for private vehicles of 2000cc and below, and private pick-up trucks and jeeps with an engine capacity of 2500cc and below.

Rebates of RM150 will be given to private motorcycles with an engine capacity of 250cc and below.

On another matter, Ong said he “was going to call” the bosses of Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia for “peace talks” over the pricing war and their tit-for-tat remarks.

“Competition must be healthy and take place on a level playing field, devoid of acrimonious remarks.

“We are all mature citizens and we all know how to carry ourselves,” he told reporters after witnessing a memorandum of understanding between the Road Safety Department and Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd at his office here yesterday.

He was commenting on the war of words between MAS managing director Datuk Seri Idris Jala and AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes recently.

MAS said it would withdraw all travel privileges given to Fernandes who responded by saying that the move was “childish.”