KUALA LUMPUR - Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein denied knowledge today of the Road Transport Department’s (RTD) approval for an non-government organisation to sell Patriot car registration plates during his tenure as acting Transport Minister.
The senior minister appeared perplexed when asked if he was aware of an application made in 2013 by Yayasan Patriot Negara Malaysia (YPNM) for permission to auction car registration plates bearing the word Patriot.
“I don’t know anything about it,” he said at a news conference after chairing an Umno committee meeting here.
Hishammuddin however said the fact that he was then the acting Transport Minister when YPNM submitted its application should not be used to pit him against current Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.
“If there are any claims of misappropriation, then maybe the MACC can look into it,” he said, referring to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
Prostituting the sacred 'P' word
Tengku Putra Haron Aminurrashid (photo), the Umno rep for Kempas rep, had earlier called the lucrative contract given to YPNM akin to an act of 'prostitution'. "This act of selling the plates is akin to 'prostituting' the sacred word to the highest bidder making them pimps, not patriots," said Haron in a blog posting today.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said that any claims of misappropriation should be investigated by the MACC.
“But don’t try and use this as an excuse to get me into a fight with the current Transport Minister,” he added.
YPNM, a self-proclaimed pro-patriotism group, claimed recently that they had applied for the Patriot number plate auction in 2013 when Hishammuddin was in charge of the Transport Ministry, and that the group only received approval this year after Liow took over the portfolio.
The group claimed that they have paid the RTD a lump sum of RM1 million for the right to auction the plates, while a further RM1 million has been spent on overhead costs for the number plates so far.
They said they expect to earn some RM10 million in profits from the sale of the plates. - Malay Mail
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