Govt to ease automotive policies that bog down Malay traders
CYBERJAYA: The Government is prepared to review the automotive policies that burden Malay entrepreneurs, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
He said these included the RM10,000 fee for each open Approved Permit (AP) introduced in 2010.
Najib said the Government collected about RM2bil in fees since it was implemented.
“However, this affected the cash flow of those in the industry,” he said.
“The Government is ready to look into what new steps can be taken to ease the burden of open AP companies,” Najib said during the opening of Wisma Yayasan Pekema here.
He said International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, who was also at the event, would submit recommendations for consideration and approval.
Any decision, he said, would involve government revenue and the Finance Ministry would be included in the decisionmaking.
He said the Government wanted to continue working with the Association of Malay Importers and Traders of Motor Vehicles Malaysia (Pekema) to further improve the industry.
The Prime Minister invited Pekema to bring up weaknesses in policies or dissatisfactions.
“We can sit together and come up with the best solutions to overcome the challenges,” he said.
Najib said 20,000 job opportunities were created in the automotive industry last year, adding that the target for this year was 27,000.
On the opening of Wisma Yayasan Pekema, he commended Pekema for buying the RM25mil eight storey twin tower with cash from its members.
“This is a sign of the success of Malay entrepreneurs through the open AP policy,” he added.