PKR "turunkan harga kereta" A False Promise

Hantu Laut

From the sublime to the ridiculous. PKR's "turunkan harga kereta" campaign is a hyperbole.

PKR promise, here, of cheaper cars for Malaysians is a desperate attempt to fish for votes. The proposal is ridiculous, impractical and will have serious repercussions if not implemented gradually. This is just another empty promise that they knew could not be implemented due to economic repercussion.

We don't need more cars on our already congested roads. Reducing the price of cars drastically will have serious repercussion on the second-hand car market which may have to close down their businesses as no one would want to buy second-hand car if price of new car is cheaper.

Though, I agree the prices of cars in this country are much higher than many other countries, including developed countries, it makes more sense to first liberalise the importation of cars by gradually reducing the current AP and to finally abolish the practice completely. Anyone, including individuals who can afford to buy directly, be allowed to import their own car by applying for a simple permit from the government at a reasonable fee. 

The government can charge fee based on cubic capacity of the engine. The bigger the engine the higher the fee. The reduction in import duties should be gradual and must be done over extended period.

The present system of issuing APs to selected companies do not benefit the government as there are no revenue collected by the government. The AP have made selected Malays/bumiputras very rich and lazy.Most of the businesses end up in Chinaman's hand who make even more money. 

Most cars imported under APs are refurbished second-hand cars and under declared by importers to reduce payment of import duty. Here again, the government lost substantial amount of revenue.

I was made to understand some AP are sold as much as RM30,000.00 each. The lucky bumiputra needs only 100 APs and he can collect a cool RM3.0 million for doing fuck all. If Pakatan is serious about stamping out corruptions this is one of the many things they should abolish.

They should not be any love lost with Proton or false belief of national car and national pride.If it can't make money, sell it off, or close it down.Malaysians should not be made to pay to support this losing industry. 

The British have lost most, if not all, of its pioneering car industry, closed down or sold off to foreign interests. British Leyland, the biggest car manufacturer decades ago has ceased to exist. 

The old Malay adage "biar mati anak jangan mati adat" is not relevant in a business world. Both Proton and MAS should be considered for closure or divest to other interested party.

Of highest priority, is not price reduction of new cars, but improving the public transportation in the country.Malaysia has one of the worst public transportation system in urban and semi-urban areas. This anomaly has been neglected for decades. While our neighbours have commissioned mass transit for many years now, Malaysia is still lumbering over a system for its capital city. The project has also been met by oppositions from landowners instigated by opposition parties. 

In Singapore, no private landowners dare to protest against any project of public interest or public purposes and the government has a tough land acquisition law to deal with such opposition. There was no political sabotage of its MRT project as what we see happening in Kuala Lumpur. 

Taxis in Malaysia are one of the worst in the world. Try catch a cab during peak hours in Kuala Lumpur, if that is not bad enough, dealing with ill-mannered driver would make your blood reach boiling point. Taxis in major towns in Malaysia are old junks, uncomfortable, badly maintained and dangerous. 

Just last week the government announced the increase in maximum age of taxis from 15 to 18 years, that it says would make many taxi drivers happy. What about safety of passengers, are this no concern of the government? The government also give away free tyres to qualified taxis.

All these ad hoc handouts are pre-elections goodies that serve the public no benefit at all.

If the government is serious about improving public transport and bring down the cost of taxi fares that would bring a win-win situation for both taxi drivers and the travelling public, it must first make acquisition of vehicle for use as taxi as cheap as possible.

Remove all duties on this type of vehicle and restrict its use. The car can only be sold as a taxi and must be scrapped after 15 years. Subsidy on fuel and tyres should also be considered. 

When fares are cheap more people will use taxis and for the taxi driver, it's economies of scale, the bigger the volume the more he makes.

Taking cheap public transport is a better choice than buying a car. The lower and middle income group will have more money in their pockets to spend on other necessities.