KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16 — The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) has blasted the Pakatan Harapan administration for the alleged delay in approving prices for new car models, saying that this is affecting its launch of new vehicles.
In a report by business paper The Edge, MAA president Datuk Aishah Ahmad said this could impact 2019 sales because the duration of the delay can be as long as five to seven months.
“I cannot mention specifically, but many of our members have been affected by this delay.
There are a lot of models which we have showed during the motor show (Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show 2018) and we are supposed to launch them but until today we still haven’t got the official prices (from the authorities),” she reportedly said at a media briefing here today.
The pricing approval process has become more complex due to the Automotive Business Development Committee (ABDC), which is a new government body under the International Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI).
The members of the committee are made up of the Finance Ministry, Customs Department, Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority.
Aishah blamed the Finance Ministry for refusing to make any decision while placing that responsibility on the shoulders of ABDC.
“Government officials are now holding back — they don’t want to make any decision on their own. It has to be a committee decision and it (the delay) is not helping the industry.
“We have voiced this out. It is very difficult because we cannot get prices and therefore we cannot launch our models,” Aishah reportedly said.
