PARLIAMENT | Amid resistance to his attempt to start a new national car project, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has found himself an ally in the opposition in the form of Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (BN-Pasir Salak).

 

"I would like to state that I fully support the national car project proposed by the prime minister. I rarely support the prime minister but I do on this," Tajuddin said in a follow-up question to Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Ong Kian Ming during Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat today.

 

Tajuddin said this was because a wealthy country needs to export manufactured goods and cannot rely on commodities such as palm oil and rubber.

However, he said, the government must ensure that it does not go the way of Proton and claimed those managing the troubled first national car project had once worked for him and were "not all that intelligent".

Despite his expression of support for the Pakatan Harapan government, Tajuddin repeatedly poked fun at the ruling coalition over its Malacca assemblyperson Norhizam Hassan Baktee, whose recent outburst during a dialogue with constituents over a road closure had gone viral on social media.

"I asked my question to the prime minister but it was passed to the International Trade and Industry Ministry and even the minister, but it was the deputy (who received it). This is an important question.

"I'm a Berhormat you know, I'm a Berhormat... I'm referring to the Malacca incident," he laughed while imitating Norhizam.

This irked Khoo Poay Tiong (Harapan-Kota Melaka), who cited the standing order which stated that one should not disguise comments as questions during Question Time.

Conducting necessary studies

Meanwhile,Wong Chen (Harapan-Subang) said he was less prepared to unconditionally throw support behind the proposed national car project.

"My support will very much depend on the economic impact assessment and cost-benefit analysis," he said

As such, Wong Chen asked if the government would conduct the necessary studies to ensure that the venture would truly be beneficial to the people.

To this, Ong concurred that an economic impact analysis was an appropriate suggestion, but added that more clarity was first needed on the direction the government plans to take after reviewing the various proposals from the private sector.

He revealed that, to date, 14 proposals had been submitted since a call for proposals was initiated on Sept 15 and closed on Oct 15.

"For now, we need a clearer direction as we have not reviewed all the proposals from companies and individuals for the new national car project.

"Once there is a direction, an economic impact assessment should be conducted," Ong said.

The deputy minister also reiterated that the third national car project would be spearheaded by the private sector, and will take next-generation vehicles and the fourth industrial revolution into consideration.

However, he added that the government would provide assistance to the private sector where necessary.