Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan yesterday used the analogy of statins that reduce cholesterol in reply to a question from Ms Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon GRC) on removing the evening Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) charges along the Central Expressway (CTE).

Mr Khaw said removing these charges will see slower speeds and more traffic congestion. "I had open heart surgery more than five years ago, so every now and then I have to face my cardiologist.

"A few days before the consultation, we will always do a fasting blood test and I always hope that this time round, maybe my bad cholesterol reading will be in the optimal range so that hopefully he can remove the very high statin dosage that he applied onto me.

"So last year, when I went for my consultation and my results were better than his preferred range, I said: 'Doctor, this time round we can remove it.'

"He said: 'No. If you remove it, who knows, it may go up again.' So same rate. This time round, when I see him tomorrow - I got my blood results a few days ago, (but) unfortunately this time it exceeded the targeted range, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed - hopefully the very aggressive dosage is not raised further.

"And cholesterol is the same thing as the congestion."