Why is the government still mum on whether car prices will be affected by Afta (Asean Free Trade Agreement)? Why not make it a point to everyone that prices will remain as it is, with campaigns on the scale of the 'water issue'. After all, such a campaign will only help our national carmakers, by encouraging potential buyers who are taking the wait-and-see stance to make a firm decision.

One can only conclude that car prices will indeed go down. By keeping the state of affairs regarding Afta silent, the government can at least squeeze every single drop of taxmoney out of foreign car makers while at the same time, allowing the national car makers enjoy the last drop of juice from their inflated car prices.

But what about our PM's announcement that car prices will remain the same? I think would-be buyers should take his comments with a pinch of salt. The PM can afford to make such announcements, while on the other hand, ministers in the relevant ministries can't. If indeed foreign car makers go towards the cheap side, they will still be around to face the music while the PM won't. Credibility is at stake.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Malaysians would rather wait two more years before buying a new car. With a purchase tag only smaller than a house, two years is a relatively short wait. Most are simply worried that they will be short changed, of all people, by the government.

Now, if car prices is in fact going for a dive, the government will actually do better by making it a public knowledge. This is since foreign car makers will anticipate that buyers will wait until Afta to commit. To boost sales in this conditions, they will react by cutting car prices down to expected post-Afta levels. Perhaps they will even be willing to accept some losses in order not to have two bad years of lagging sales or worse, an excess of outdated stock.

The results of going public about Afta effects is, buyers will be in for a handsome discount for quality makes. Foreign car makers will be all the happier with sales returning to normal levels or indeed, higher. The government, will still be able to collect tax, possibly more than the current levels as more buyers confidently decide to buy, rather than waiting, and seeing. So everybody wins.

Why hasn't the government thought about this? Well, remember the phrase "national car makers'? They and their direct stakeholders will be the only parties to lose out and these too are the people privy to the Afta secrets.

So for the time being, many will rather wait and see...