We fully supports the call by the new Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry (MITI), Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir to abolish the current policy of dishing out approved permits (AP) to certain connected parties for the purposes of importing foreign cars.
Based on earlier numbers which were disclosed in 2006 after the former Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad attacked Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz on her role in favouring retired MITI civil servants, 33,218 APs (or 50.1% of total of 66,277 APs) in 2004 and 28,283 APs (or 41% of total of 68,330 APs) in 2005 were awarded to the trio of the late Tan Sri Nasimuddin SM Amin, Datuk Syed Azman Syed Ibrahim and Datuk Mohd Haniff Abdul Aziz. In 2005, some 80% of the APs went to 20% of the companies, many of which were inter-related.
The award of these “free” APs to these individuals and their companies gave them the opportunity to amass RM1.8 billion within two years. It raises the obvious question as to how such discretionary issuance of APs will help achieve its objective of “creating a class of bumiputra entrepreneurs or uplifting the economic position of the bumiputras” as quoted in a reply to me based on a parliamentary question I raised last year.
Hence, we support the call by the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Car Dealers and Credit Companies Association to open up the AP scheme for public auction to everyone, with possibly 30% restricted for Bumiputra participation.
The DAP has been calling for the current AP scheme to be abolished since it first reared its ugly head and in our proposed national budget for 2008 presented in 2007, we have called for an open auction of the APs which could raise up to RM1.5 billion annually for the treasury based on an estimated 50,000 APs issued at a conservative market value of RM30,000 each. These funds could be channelled towards public causes such as overhauling our miserable public transportation system and facilities which our new Prime Minister witnessed for the very first time yesterday.
The availability of funds are of even greater importance to the government given the necessity to expand public expenditure in light of the global economic crisis, which is hampered by the sheer lack of funds due to the shrinking petroleum-related revenues.
I'd like to reiterate our call to support the above reforms, and will certainly take a common stand with Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir on this issue in the interest of openness, competition and transparency.
10 comments:
Unfortunately auctioning APs also means that only the rich gets to drive imported car while the common people will always stuck with the local/SEA produced cars.
RM1.8billions to 3 individuals??? That's about RM300millions/year. Wah..so easy to be multi millionaire UMNOputra in Malaysia. Even Berni Madoff The perpetrator of the world biggest ponzi scheme can only accumulate wealth of USD500million over 10 years! Here in Malaysia one UMNOputra easily beat Madoff with RM600millions in two years, just by goyang kaki and ass kissing...Great work MahaDey..1 UMNOputra multimillionaire and hundred thousand of barely surviving malays " kais pagimakan pagi, kais petang makan petang"...MahaDey the Malay Saviour..Utter Bulls#$t...Statemen my ass, he's a scoundrel of men!I don't recognized him as Malay at all...Mamak UMNO! The late Naza founder is also mamak what!
Man, you all really need to get the shadow cabinet up and running! You can't be doing all the work for everyone. Then, the effort is not focused and directed. Better to have specific MPs assigned specific projects and policies to target for scrutiny. Why are you all still wasting time playing in the sandbox?
Hmm, why would UMNO kill the golden goose???
Not really sure how the AP stuffs work as most government websites have some information here and there, not always sufficient enough.
As I might need to bring my car back next time, wondering how the auctining of AP would affect me? Or there're mainly for car dealers?
The tax costs of bringing a car back is already expensive enough! (Any chance of reducing that? :P)
At the core of the AP debate is about NEP and Industrial policy of Malaysia. Affirmative action and home-grown industry arguments combined have made the abuse worst than others as well as make it double hard to remove it.
The problem is not that the arguments for both are sound but rather because there is two policy, the resistance is doubly hard to remove it. This is Malaysia, where govt policy that are unsound is hard to remove but two unsound policy does not mean it makes it easier to remove but rather more difficult because more entrenched interest have to be removed.
There must be a way to stop feeding the fat cats.
Since Mahadey is mamak and Nasi also mamak and there are lots of mamak in UMNO, are we saying Melayu are being used by mamaks who pretend to be Melayu to enrich themselves? Or mamak = Melayu now?
Can someone enlighten me?
YB Tony , just this month alone there are Sukuk islamic bond and ASM .Is this government so desperately short?
They already took 5 billions from our EPF. And our EPF rates is lower than a Sukuk!
Any readers here shares the same sentiment?
Hopefully YB Tony do a bit of comment on this if possible
Here is the problem, mainly due to proton, which i hope is self-explanatory:
Malaysian figures, for example:
-average per capita income=>rm 24k
-price of cheapest car=>perodua rm25k-30k
just take the income to price of car ratio=> nearly 1:1.
Australian figures, for example:
-average per capita income=> aud 35k
-price of cheapest car=>japanese/korean/american aud10-12k
income to price of car ratio=> nearly 3:1.
Total population, nearly the same. Cost of labour much more than M'sia but cars are sold cheaper...dollar to dollar. Don't convert.
Malaysians being shortchanged due to protectionism to proton & APs. By ratio, proton should be raking in huge profits by comparison. If not for the APs, the gov should be the beneficiary of the higher taxes instead of individuals. Billions of rm gone to a few rather than the masses for improvement to education, public transport, etc.
Also dollar to dollar, an Audi A4 highest spec cost say AUD 90k. What do we get for rm 90k? However, it cost nearly 250-300k for Audi A4.
For Aud 300-400k, you get a bungalow lot of 10-15k sqf. For rm 300-400k, M'sians get a 22x70 link house with low standard building materials, mainky below standard from China...no offense but this is partly due to lack of enforcement - as otherwise it could be higher standard products from China or local made quality than conforms to Sirim.
We are totally screwed by our ruling politicians & whatever system that was in place for over 50 years...
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