Just last year, it was reported that a u-turn was made on the decision that ministers and high ranking officials would be getting luxury Toyota Vellfires as their official cars
Recently it was made known that the Malaysian government has switched the official minister car from the Proton Perdana to the Toyota Vellfire 2.5L.
The change, which happened back in April this year, was brought to light in a Parliament sitting on Tuesday, 2 November.
According to a Facebook post by Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin, he asked finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz about the cost of leasing the luxury MPVs.
In response, Zafrul explained that the total monthly lease for each unit comes up to RM5,759, which includes RM4,852 to rent the car and RM908 to maintain it.
“Up until September 2021, the government has paid a lease cost of RM1.42 million to the concession company,” said Zafrul in a written statement.
It is also revealed that the leasing of the luxury MPVs is sourced from the government’s longstanding fleet management partner Spanco.
According to reports, Spanco has retained the government contract it has held since 1994.
Following this, Sim asked via Facebook, why Budget 2022 is only allocating a RM150 e-wallet credit for the youths and special aid of RM700 for civil servants, whilst ministers are getting a “Vellfire support” of RM5,759 every month.
“The BN/PAS/PN government ministers all got new Vellfire cars since April 2021. This is happening at a time when people are losing their jobs, companies are closing and suicide cases are on the rise in 2021,” he stated.
“Is this luxury a necessity?”
Sim also highlighted that, “These are the ones who used to loudly oppose the PH government for considering a proposal to change cars.”
“Now they enjoy this facility without feeling embarrassed. All the previous protests seem to have been poured into the sea of the Straits of Melaka.”
Read the statement from the Bayan Baru MP here.
What do you think about this? Let us know in the comments.
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