KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 24 — Putrajaya’s failure to abolish its Open Approved Permit (AP) policy as promised will further victimise the Bumiputera community who were supposed to benefit from the scheme for foreign used cars, opposition politician Chong Zhemin said today.
The Perak DAP leader said the Open AP policy only allows a select few AP holders to import cars, contrasting it with the open market concept where Malaysians can enjoy “better quality cars at a cheaper price” as prices will go down when everyone has the freedom to bring in cars manufactured abroad.
“The AP policy will not enhance the general welfare and economic status of Bumiputera but in fact Malaysians and the majority of the Bumiputera are the victims of the open AP policy having to pay for more expensive imported cars,” the DAP Perak economic development bureau chief said in a statement.
The government yesterday said it will keep the Open AP policy instead of scrapping it by the end of this year, but Chong criticised the policy for its potential for abuse and lack of transparency and accountability over the selection of its AP holders.
He claimed that only a select few have benefited from the government’s AP policy over the past four decades, which he said had created a few “multi-billionaires” that he dubbed “AP Kings” at the expense of ordinary Malaysians.
“In 2005 alone, 67,158 APs worth RM2 Billion was issued with four AP Kings given the opportunity to amass RM850 million.
“I call on Putrajaya to immediately release the full list of AP holders dated back from 1970 to 2015 for Malaysians to decide if the AP policy has benefited the Bumiputera in general or a selected few Umnoputera,” the organising secretary of DAP Perak’s youth wing said.
Chong also said that the federal government’s failure to stick to its deadline of December 31this year to terminate the Open AP policy indicated a lack of resolve to put an end to corruption.
“Putrajaya’ decision to renege on the promise to abolish the Open AP policy show that BN has no political will to fight corruption by eliminating the window of opportunity of rent seeking, patronage and cronyism,” the political secretary to Taiping MP Nga Kor Ming said.
According to Chong, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) had effectively override its stated goals in the National Automotive Policy (NAP) 2009 to end the Open AP policy and Franchise AP policy on December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2020respectively.
Yesterday, Miti said the Open AP policy system will remain and will come into effect onJanuary 1, 2017 with new improvements such as allowing new Bumiputera firms that are eligible and comply with guidelines to join the used car business and appointing a certified independent auditor to scrutinise the firms.
Putrajaya will also use part of the government revenue collected from the Open AP system for a programme which will directly benefit Malaysians, MITI said, with specific details to be unveiled soon.
Miti said a six-month-long research had found that the current Open AP system provides opportunities for Malaysians to purchase used import cars at a “competitive price”, with this system said to also contribute five per cent out of the Bumiputera community’s participation in the automotive sector.
“If the system were discontinued, there would be no more used cars allowed into the country and this would deny many people the opportunity to buy such cars. Also, the percentage of Bumiputera equity participation in the automotive sector would reduce to 31 per cent,” Miti was quoted saying by The Star Online.
