Gov’t to introduce new automotive policy by year-end, Senate told

PARLIAMENT | The government will unveil a new National Automotive Policy by the end of this year, said International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Ong Kian Ming.

The new policy would ensure that the automotive industry remained competitive and benefited the people, he told the Dewan Negara.

“We are reviewing the National Automotive Policy and we will announce a new, more competitive policy that offers more reasonable prices for vehicles.

“We are also looking again at the RM10,000 fees that vehicle traders have to pay for every open Approved Permit (AP) import licence,” he said during question time in the House.

He was replying to a supplementary question from Senator Chai Kim Sen on the fees for AP imposed on vehicle traders.

Ong said the new policy would give importance to the revamp of all monopolies in the industry.

Replying to the original question from Chai, who wanted to know whether the government planned to abolish the AP in fulfilling a Pakatan Harapan promise to reduce vehicle prices, Ong said the government had no plan to abolish the AP as it was not a factor that determined vehicle prices in the market.

“We will also adopt several stringent measures to ensure that the AP is not misused,” he said.

- Bernama