Do we need a third national car in the first place?

When Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad raised the possibility of Malaysia having a third national car during his visit to Japan shortly after becoming prime minister for a second time, most people did not take it seriously.

However, it is beginning to appear that he did mean what he said. Entrepreneur Development Minister Mohd Redzuan Yusof seems to be the person tasked with driving the project because he is the only Cabinet member, apart from Mahathir, who has been speaking about it.

Redzuan said last week that the car would be semi-electric and would be privately funded so there was no concern about involving taxpayer’s money.

Mahathir, when asked if Khazanah Nasional Bhd would be involved, replied that it was “not the government” and that it can invest in any business it wishes to.

Surely, while Khazanah is not the government, it is owned by the government and is funded by taxpayers. And didn’t Mahathir himself criticise Khazanah a few months ago for allegedly straying from the objectives set by the government? So, why is Khazanah part of the government then, but is not the government should it get involved in starting another national car project?

In the first place, why do we need a national car? There are, of course, successful car companies. But Toyota is not Japan’s national car, and neither is BMW or Mercedes Benz the national car of Germany.

Thailand has become the automotive manufacturing hub of Southeast Asia without having a national car. Numerous skilled local industries have mushroomed to support the manufacturing needs of global car giants that have made Thailand their base. Our neighbour to the north has achieved this without having to pour billions of taxpayer dollars into supporting a national car through subsidies. 

Excerpt from the Edge Opinion