Dr M: NAP being reviewed
‘Plan to tighten rules for imported cars also on the cards’
THE National Automotive Policy (NAP) is being reviewed, including a plan to tighten rules for the import of foreign cars, says Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
He said the move was to allow national cars, such as Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Bhd (Proton) and others to dominate the local market.
He said while the Government supported free trade, there were conditions imposed by other countries worldwide.
One example, he said, was the European emission standards, such as the Euro 5, that defines the acceptable limits for exhaust emissions of new vehicles sold there.
“Some countries even impose agricultural taxes.
“But here, any car produced, even those made out of tin, can enter the Malaysian market. So it is very open.
“Any car producer can enter our market, that is the problem we are facing.
“As such, we are looking into imposing certain conditions which will disallow (foreign) car models to (arbitrarily) enter our market.
“This will allow our local brands, like Proton, to capture the local market,” said Dr Mahathir to a question posed by Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) who asked the Government to elaborate on its plan on a third national car project.
He said that policies set by the Barisan Nasional government in the past decade allowed the import of international cars without having restrictions imposed.
This factor made it difficult for Proton to dominate the local market, he added.
Dr Mahathir said “once upon a time”, Proton received enough funding so it could continue to expand and be successful.
“However, in the past 10 years, the (government) policies were changed and Proton did not receive much funding for research and development.
“Grants were given to other companies, but not Proton. So it had to find funding on its own.
“What’s weird is that the (then) government only injected funding once the company was sold off,” said Dr Mahathir.
He said if there was “genuine help” from the Government before this, Proton would still remain successful as it once was.
Dr Mahathir said the NAP would also be reviewed to ensure national carmakers like Proton and Perodua remained competitive.
He said the national automotive industry was vital for the country’s growth, saying that having a new national car project would help boost Malaysia’s engineering capability.
In June, Dr Mahathir disclosed plans for a third national car, saying there was a need to create opportunities for Malaysian engineers to do things on their own.
Meanwhile at the Parliament lobby, Dr Mahathir told reporters that he would seek Australia’s position on the extradition of former policeman Sirul Azhar Umar during his meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
“I want to know Australia’s position on this issue,” he added.
Bishop will be in Malaysia for a diplomatic visit from Tuesday to Thursday.
Dr Mahathir had previously said the death sentence imposed on Sirul might be commuted to allow Australia to extradite the former police corporal to Malaysia.
Together with fellow colleague Azilah Hadri, Sirul was convicted of Altantuya Shaariibuu’s murder and sentenced to death in 2009.
The Court of Appeal overturned their sentences in 2013. But upon the prosecution’s appeal, they were upheld by the Federal Court.
However, Sirul fled to Australia where he was detained by the Australian Immigration in Sydney, where he has been held since 2015.