Had any oppostion party member made any of the statements (in green), the Federal Government and its supporters, especially Umno, would have said we are envious about the wealth and success stories of the AP holders. Ironically, the former PM now echoes what we would have been echoing. Can the supporters of the former PM accuse us of such now?
Dare we hope an about turn of Tun Dr Mahathir from his former capacity...? Should we?
Raja Petra Kamarudin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
(Bernama) -- Former Prime Minister and Proton adviser Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad claims that Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz has misled delegates at the recently-concluded UMNO General Assembly over the controversy surrounding the issuance of Approved Permits (APs).
Contrary to the original aims of the issuance of APs which was to raise the number of Bumiputeras in the auto industry, Dr Mahathir maintained APs have clearly enriched certain Bumiputera individuals, especially when two or three individuals without showrooms obtained thousands of such permits.
He also said the clash over the APs issue was not a difference in statements between individuals or the minister and a retiree (himself), but about a national industry.
Among the issues of contention was that there was never any decision by the government during his tenure as Prime Minister not to release the list of names of AP recipients to the public.
"Perhaps the decision (not to release the names) was made by the present government.
"The question is whether the decision (not to release the names) was made before or after the minister announced that the government's policy was not to release the names of AP holders," he said in a 21-point statement released here Tuesday.
Dr Mahathir said Rafidah's allegations at the UMNO General Assembly and during interviews that "I might have forgotten this and that" was not true.
"Although I am already 80-years old, I am not senile," he said.
For instance, he said although there were no official restrictions to retired government officers receiving special privileges by the government, the public was questioning "why only this officer got thousands of APs when he has not even fulfilled the required conditions."
He said many auto dealers, including the Malay Automobile Importers and Distributors of Malaysia (Pekema), asked for the APs but were not given.
"They were also not told about the franchise category of APs.
"If they had received APs under this category, there would have been more AP holders," he said.
The introduction of the franchise APs was not announced to car dealers openly, Dr Mahathir said.
He said that all of a sudden, the franchise category was introduced and under the category, certain individuals received many APs.
Under the previous open category APs, importers could bring in various models.
When the franchise APs were introduced, only those who had this franchise could bring in imported models.
As a result, those who before were allowed to import through the open category APs, were no longer able to import these cars.
Those who received the franchise APs were not car traders but former government officers who received thousands of APs despite not having facilities to assemble or sell these imported cars.
They only handed over (with a certain payment) the APs to parties who could afford to assemble and sell imported cars of certain models, he said.
On the letter and attached documents received from Rafidah, Dr Mahathir said they did not prove the claims made by the minister.
They included the approval for Naza Ria to be accorded national car status, the number of APs issued between 2004-2005, the terms and conditions for issuing the APs, the types of APs issued, names of those (companies and individuals) who received APs and the total they received respectively.
"I am not envious of Malays becoming rich. But their wealth must be obtained in the right way," he said.
Dr Mahathir said he had "many times ticked off those who sell their APs to get rich quickly."
He said it was clear that the problem of APs being sold was now widespread.
"It is the responsibility of a minister to monitor the situation to ensure such abuses do not occur," he said.
He said the contents of the letters between Rafidah and himself would also be released later to avoid any misunderstanding.
The question of Proton's quality also does not arise as the national car manufacturer has managed to penetrate the Australian and United Kingdom markets, he said.
New models are bound to have some defects, he said.
He said thousands of cars of well-known makes were recalled as a result of certain defects, including Mitsubishi, Chevrolet, Ford and others.
He said he made the clarification to preserve and protect "national dignity and national interests and for a national industry that has succeeded.
"I do not have any interest in Proton. I do not receive a single sen as its adviser.
"If my son received a small number of APs (95) to import the Porsche, it fulfilled the conditions. To sell 50 cars of this model is not easy," he said.
"Don't do it like before, linking my family whenever something that should not be done happens," he said.
Dr Mahathir said he was forced to reveal everything to protect the interest of the national car industry and not "because I did not get APs" as claimed by a English newspaper.
He said that at first, after replying to Rafidah's letter with a copy to the Cabinet, he did not have the intention of making any more statements.
"It was up to the Cabinet to determine what is true and what is not true.
"However, because the minister did not make a true statement to UMNO delegates and the public, I was forced to make a clarification," said Dr Mahathir.
Dr Mahathir also said: "I was once Trade and Industry Minister. The explanation by the minister that she cancelled many of the APs of holders who did not fulfill conditions when she took over the ministry showed how strict she was then.
"But who was her predecessor at that time? As this was not mentioned, some might think I was the person."
Providing a background to the early days, he said APs were first issued in the 70's before Proton came on the scene.
At that time, he said Malays could not enter the auto business as auto agents such as Kah Motors (Honda), UMW (Toyota) and Cycle and Carriage (Mercedes) and others comprised non-Bumiputeras.
"They (non-Bumiputeras) did not give opportunities to Bumiputera businessmen," Dr Mahathir said.
The cars assembled in the country or imported by agents, dealers, distributors and official importers could not be imported by anybody else without paying "over-riding" commission to the official agents.
Following that, APs were given to import reconditioned cars.
Although many Bumiputeras sold their APs, there were those who succeeded in this field, among them Tan Sri S.M. Nasimuddin, he said.
"Without APs, there would not be any Bumiputera car dealers before Proton. But many Bumiputeras were successful as car dealers when the national car was manufactured," he said.
The manufacture of Proton helped to reduce the number of imported cars by non-Bumiputera agents.
He said that with more demand for the Proton, there would be more Bumiputera agents and their sales more brisk.
In contrast, when APs were given in larger numbers to a smaller group of bumiputeras who were basically not prepared to trade, naturally the number of Bumiputera car dealers did not increase significantly and therefore, the sales of Proton cars by its agents comprising Bumiputeras have dwindled, he said.
Besides this, the prices of imported cars via APs are too low, enabling these cars to be sold at a large discount and therefore their sales have been brisk.
At the same time, the number of Proton agents have not increased, said Dr Mahathir.
--
Posted by Raja Petra Kamarudin to MT-news at 7/26/2005 08:14:00 PM
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