THE report is indeed true, but so what ? Will it really matter to Malaysians six months down the road if Anwar Ibrahim sticks to his game plan to abolish the approve permit regime for the automotive sector.
THAT very act itself, will be good enough for the majority of Malaysians regardless of political affiliation to place Anwar Ibrahim as the only Prime Minister to have put the Malayian consumer first, well ahead of the approved permit kings.
THE approved permit King's thrived under the tutelage of Dr Mahathir, while the consumers had a yoke placed on their neck, that despite our low wages, we had to fork out even more US dollars than the American consumer has had to do for the same set of cars.
WHILE Tengku Zafrul would like to believe that READ : that the automotive AP regime will remain, there is too strong a current which suggest Anwar Ibrahim is going to pull the plug on the Automotive AP business.
ANWAR Ibrahim's own actions in READ : allowing Tesla to enter Malaysia without an AP partner, will definitely trigger other EP car makers to demand the same type of deal.
THE Malaysia Government can't say no to the other car makers, and I doubt they will say no, because targeting the AP business, has a two pronged benefit.
ONE, there will be a direct inflow of capital by foreign car makers to set up base in Malaysia, which is among the most vibrant automotive markets in South East Asia.
TWO, killing the AP will bring the cost of living down and provide the consumer adequate cash in the pocket to face the on going food inflation .
ALSO, Anwar Ibrahim's number two in Parti Keadilan Nasional , the Economic Minister Rafizi Ramli has already said READ : a plan of action to limit the AP Scoorge will be laid out by as early as November to a high powered committee that includes the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Bank Negara Governor, and the Head of the Civil Service among others.
IF Razifi Ramli can slam dunk it for Malaysia, then come 2024 and beyond, the Malaysian voters won't give two hoots if even all the seats at the United Nations remain empty, but they will surely compare Anwar Ibrahim to Tun Mahathir on the AP scorecard.
WHAT the heck, most of us might even come to the conclusion that Anwar Ibrahim, should have been given the Prime Ministership, a decade earlier, READ : as in 2013, when Daim Zainuddin said that the government should consider abolishing the Open AP policy for the import of vehicles to help reduce the cost of owning cars in Malaysia.
