PUTRAJAYA: The cabinet has discussed the contents of highway concessionaire agreements a couple of times, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said. 

The deputy prime minister, who is also the finance minister, said he would ask Works Minister Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamad to issue a statement on the matter "to make sure that technically, it is correct".

"I will leave it to the works minister to make the statement," he said when asked to comment on an English daily's report quoting sources as saying that the government had declassified the agreements.

Najib was speaking after the Belia Felda Malaysia forum and award presentation ceremony.

Declassification would make the contents of the contracts, said to be one-sided and only benefiting concessionaires, no longer official secrets.

Yesterday, efforts to contact the various toll concessionaires for comments drew a blank. PLUS Expressways Berhad said it would hold a press conference today on the toll rates.

Apart from PLUS, other con-cessionaires include Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd, Besraya (M) Sdn Bhd, Grand Saga Sdn Bhd, Kesas Sdn Bhd, Litrak, New Pantai Expressway Sdn Bhd (NPE), Konsortium Lebuhraya Butterworth-Kulim Sdn Bhd and Sistem Lingkaran Lebuh-raya Kajang Sdn Bhd. 

The government had on several occasions said citi-zens had an inherent right to know where and how their tax monies were being used and had hinted about declassifying the toll concessions.

However, non-disclosure clauses in the agreements mean that the government cannot on its own reveal details. Then works minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu had said last February that the public might be a step closer to knowing the contents of the agreements.

He had said his ministry was writing letters to concessionaires on a proposal to publicise the agreements.

Samy Vellu said he raised the matter in the cabinet on Feb 7 and the prime minister asked him to submit a working paper.

He added he had also consulted the attorney-general.

Samy Vellu had said the toll agreements would be put up for public viewing at his ministry after cabinet approval.

Early last year, police took statements from four opposition politicians over the disclosure of the toll agreement with Litrak, the concession-holder for the Damansara-Puchong Highway, after it increased toll charges from RM1 to RM1.60 in January.