KUCHING : Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Youth Central Chief, Michael Tiang is of the opinion that there should not be another new national car project as
proposed by Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir who was on a working visit to Japan.
“We learned from the past experiences the protective measures put in place for national cars by the government had, in fact, caused the consumers to pay higher prices for cars. The privileges and incentives enjoyed by national cars did not translate into a more competitive and healthier market for both consumers and other carmakers.
“Although this time Pakatan Harapan didn’t promise to reduce car prices in its GE14 Manifesto, the PH government needs to heed that high car prices remain heavy financial burdens to Malaysians. Due to poor public transportation systems in most places in Malaysia, owning a car to commute is a fundamental need, not an option to many.”
Tiang added that instead of seeking to launch another national car project, the PH government should find new measures to bring car prices down by way of gradual liberalisation and tax incentives to the carmakers so that Malaysian consumers could afford lower priced cars with better specs.
