In 1983, the Malaysian Government introduced the privatisation policy to achieve the following objectives:
Apart from the privatisation of the existing public services agencies such as the national airline (MAS), airport, port authorities, power supply (TNB), postal and the telecommunication services, the upgrading of existing roads and the construction of new highways and expressways have also been privatised.
The Federal Roads (Private Management) Act 1984 was passed by the Parliament allowing the Government to grant private companies the right to collect tool on public roads. Private operators are allowed to construct, operate and maintain new roads and thereafter to recover back the cost through the collection of tools. This privatisation scheme also allowed the Government to hand over sections of completed roads to private companies for upgrading and subsequent maintenance over a concession period.
Among the successful road projects constructed through the privatisation concept are the North-South Expressway , North Klang Straits Bypass and Jalan Kuching/Kepong Interchange.
| NO | GOVERNMENT OWNED ENTITY | METHOD | YEAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Klang Straits By-Pass | B.O.T | 1983 |
| 2 | Jalan Kucing-Kepong Interchange | B.O.T | 1983 |
| 3 | North-South Expressway | B.O.T | 1988 |
| 4 | Malaysia-Singapore Second Crossing | B.O.T | 1993 |
| 5 | Seremban-Port Dickson Highway | B.O.T | 1993 |
| 6 | Shah Alam Expressway | B.O.T | 1993 |
| 7 | North-South Expressway Central Link | B.O.T | 1994 |
| 8 | Kulim-Butterworth Highway | B.O.T | 1994 |
| 9 | Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway | B.O.T | 1994 |
| 10 | Cheras-Kajang Highway | B.O.T | 1994 |
In the Malaysian context, privatisation is defined as the transfer of the Government's obligations in providing goods and services that are traditionally within its domain to the private sector.
In the process, the Government transfers its ownership of assets or right to use thereof to the private sector together with its other concomitant rights and liabilities as the case may be.
There are various modes of privatisation being considered by the government which include divestment of Government's interest, leasing, contracting out and the management of Government entities which utilised privatisating existing projects activities.
For new projects, the Government is amenable to the idea of `Build-Operate-Transfer' or `Build-Operate-Own' or `Build-Transfer' models.
Copyright © 1995, JKR Cawangan Jalan, December, 1995