KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 — The recent announcement by PLUS Malaysia Berhad (PLUS) on the abolishment of Touch ‘n Go (TnG) reload facilities at all toll plaza exit lanes starting today seems to have rekindled public criticism against the electronic cashless payment system.

Online, the #MansuhTouchNGo hashtag (Malay for “abolish TnG”) joined Twitter’s trending topics today as Malaysians complain about limited top-up alternatives and unreasonable surcharge.

Touch 'N Go Sdn Bhd’s parent company is CIMB Group Holdings Bhd.

Despite the fact that it was PLUS that closed the reload booths, many Malaysians chose to blame TnG for the apparent inconvenience.

PLUS escaped the brunt of the criticism, as Twitter users took aim at TnG.

“Now, let's hold big corporations accountable for their sh*tty services. They've managed to get away with providing subpar services for so long, that consumers are the ones paying the price,” said a top tweet by @aidathecat.

“CIMB has had so many data breaches, if they can barely fortify their system and update their tech what makes us think they'll bother with TnG?” asked musician Takahara Suiko of The Venopian Solitude on her account.

Among the top comments were users calling the system a “scam”.

“TouchNGo is a scam. If you don’t use it in a year, your card is invalid, your money is ‘burnt’,” said user @AlongEasy.

 

 

“I once told others that TnG is a licensed scam. People are forced to use this illegitimate system, with money that has an expiry date, whereas we consumers are charged when we want to use it.

“Capitalistic. To pay toll, let there be other alternatives that users can choose,” said user @EpinArifinEpin.

User @bingregoy even penned a pantun, a Malay rhyming poem, to express his displeasure at the service.

 

 

Local comic artist @hxsm also produced a four-paneled comic depicting the inconvenience that Malaysians faced in the use of TnG, with the last panel showing an octopus, a clear reference to CIMB’s official mascot.

 

 

Several Twitter users have also listed down their suggestions on how the service can improve itself, with user @amirulfadhlii saying TnG should allow users to top up cards online and abolish its surcharge and expiry date.

“Do these three basic things first then only we talk about doing other stuff. Listen to your customers,” he said.

 

 

On November 1, PLUS said the move was aimed at reducing congestion caused by reload activities at all toll plazas in the northern region (between Hutan Kampung and Ipoh Utara) and the southern region (between Seremban and Skudai).

PLUS however said customer service centres and reload lanes at entry lanes at selected toll plazas will continue operating as usual.

Meanwhile, TnG today also released a 15-second video informing users the existence of at least 11,000 top-up locations such as convenience stores and petrol stations nationwide, in lieu of the reload facilities abolishment.