The Customs Department is using luxurious cars like BMW in order to make their operations efficient, Finance Ministry parliamentary secretary Dr Hilmi Yahya told the Dewan Rakyat today.

The usage of these cars is not to upgrade the image of customs officers but for operations, especially in curbing the smuggling of drugs.

"It's not for style but because BMW can be driven fast and it is stable. It is used for prevention activities. So it is necessary, if we use Kancil, we cannot chase bigger cars," he said.

Hilmi was responding to a question from Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) who wanted to know the rationale in using luxurious cars seized by the customs department.

According to Hilmi, using these cars also saved the government money from buying new cars for the Customs.

Cars sold for a song

Earlier, Mohd Said Yusof (BN-Jasin) had asked what are the criteria that determine the ceiling price for the auctioning of cars confiscated by the department.

Hilmi said the government has not fixed a ceiling price and the price is determined by the auction.

In his supplementary question, Mohd Said told the House that most of the cars auctioned were in deplorable condition while the 'good cars' are sold for a song to certain individuals such as royalties and government officials.

However, Hilmi denied this and said that the process was open and done in accordance to proper procedure.

"This means the auction is done openly and all interested buyers have equal chance," he said.

When Mohd Said raised his question, Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang asked if there was a conflict of interest but this was brushed off by Speaker Ramli Ngah Talib.

The Jasin MP had recently became embroiled in a controversy after he allegedly told the customs department to 'close one eye' regarding a confiscated shipment of illegal timber.

When the issue attracted immense publicity, Mohd Said had on one occasion accused the Customs of having an axe to grind with him.

The MP is currently being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA).