KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 ― Lim Kit Siang today urged for Datuk Seri Najib Razak's intervention on the uproar over the sale of Patriot vehicle registration plates, saying the prime minister should stop the auction as it brings shame to the genuine patriots of Malaysia.
The DAP veteran cited recent remarks made by Johor Umno assemblyman Tengku Putra Haron Aminurrashid to back his demand, noting that the latter had likened the sale of the vanity car plates to prostitution.
In his blog “Patriot”, the Kempas assemblyman ha reportedly asked YPNM if it understood the true meaning of the word “patriot” and whether it intends to conduct background checks on bidders to ensure that only those worthy win rights to the plates.
“There should be no need to drag out this 'Patriot' plates farce and fiasco, which display not only a shocking absence of good and proper judgment by our ministers but even a perverted understanding of the meaning of “patriotism” where everything has a price!
“The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, should show leadership and just scrap the silly and unpatriotic idea of putting 'patriotism' on the auction block,” Lim said in a statement today.
Yayasan Patriot Negara Malaysia (YPNM), a self-proclaimed pro-patriotism group, claimed that they have paid the Road Transport Department a lump sum of RM1 million for the right to auction the plates, while a further RM1 million has been spent on overhead costs for the number plates so far.
They said they expect to earn some RM10 million in profits from the sale of the plates.
Earlier this morning, the group defended itself against a number of allegations, including, among others, claims that the car plate project involves public funds.
In a statement here, YPNM said the project is a private initiative that hopes to generate proceeds of up to RM10 million from the auction of the Patriot plates, which it says is meant to fund events to promote patriotism.
