PM denies green-lighting GLC’s investment in third national car firm DreamEdge

SEPANG, Aug 13 — Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has denied today giving his personal approval for a government-linked company to buy shares in DreamEdge, the firm that will produce Malaysia’s third national car.

The prime minister said somebody else had approved the investment by VentureTech Sdn Bhd in the Cyberjaya-based firm, but did not elaborate.

“It was not me who approved it, but the thing has been done. So I have nothing to say,” he said, following the 21st anniversary of the KLIA airport.

Dr Mahathir said the decision was probably made due to the positive perception presented by DreamEdge.

“A lot of government agencies, when they see something about to take off, they think they should have a piece of the cake,” he said.

He was asked to comment on MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong’s remarks on Friday, after the latter urged the government to reveal its stake in DreamEdge.

Wee said 53 per cent of the firm’s shares are owned by VentureTech Sdn Bhd, which is itself a government-linked company.

This is in contrast to Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’s earlier statement that the third national car project will not be publicly financed.

DreamEdge chief executive Khairil Adri Adnan has, however, denied Wee’s remark, saying that VentureTech only owns 10 per cent of the company’s ordinary shares.

The rest, he said, were in Redeemable Convertible Preference Shares, a type of securities that investors can choose to convert into ordinary shares after a certain period.