Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has announced a 50% discount on tolls for two days conjunction with the Deepavali festival. The announcement was made during the presentation of Budget 2026 at the Dewan Rakyat today. That being said, which two days were not specified.
This announcement is in line with the government’s earlier decision to replace the previous toll-free initiative. The 50% toll discount was first implemented during the Chinese New Year festival earlier this year and was later extended to the Hari Raya celebration as well.
As reported previously, this move was taken by the government to reduce expenditure on compensating highway concessionaires. According to Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi, full toll exemptions would have cost the government RM160 million in compensation to concessionaires. By implementing a 50% discount instead, the cost is halved to RM80 million.
Earlier, the New Straits Times (NST) reported that, according to Bukit Aman Traffic Enforcement and Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan, around 2.1 million cars are expected to be on the road during the Deepavali holidays. Thus, this two-day 50% toll discount will be particularly helpful for Malaysians travelling to their hometowns.
It is also worth noting that KTMB has announced the addition of two extra ETS trains in conjunction with the Deepavali celebration this month. The extra ETS trains will serve the Padang Besar–Kuala Lumpur route and vice versa. Together, the two additional trains will provide 630 seats per day, bringing the total number of available seats — including business class — to 3,780 during the period.
(Source: Budget 2026 Presentation, NST)
