Rafidah wants import permit scheme abolished

Rafidah wants import permit scheme abolished

Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia's trade minister says she wants a controversial car
import permit scheme abolished -- a surprising about-face after
defending it stoutly amid allegations the policy was misused to
benefit a few well-connected businesses.

"To me, the entire system should be abolished," Rafidah Aziz,
the international trade and industry minister, said at a seminar
late on Friday.

"It goes against the World Trade Organization agreement."

She did not elaborate and could not be reached for comment on
Saturday.

Under the scheme started more than three decades ago, Approved
Permits, or APs, are issued to ethnic Malay-owned companies as
licenses to import foreign cars. It was meant to help Malays gain
a foothold in the auto sector and catch up with the economically
dominant minority Chinese.

But the International Trade and Industry Ministry has been
accused of awarding the licenses to only a few businesses,
including those close to Rafidah.

Rafidah, Malaysia's best-known female politician, previously
defended the auto permit scheme and denied any wrongdoing. She
gave a lengthy explanation on the AP policy at this week's
Cabinet meeting.

New Straits Times chief editor Kalimullah Hassan wrote in a
commentary on Saturday that Rafidah couldn't convince the Cabinet
of the grounds for giving a large number of APs to two former
officials who worked under her previously, and indicated she may
lose her job, which she has held since 1987.

"Unfortunately, Rafidah's tenure today has become almost
untenable unless she can pull the proverbial rabbit out of the
hat and turn back the tide of negative sentiment against her," he
said.

The government said there was weaknesses in the AP scheme and
pledged to revamp the policy as part of a national automotive
policy that will be announced next month.

It also vowed to safeguard the interests of national car
Proton, which is struggling under competition from foreign car
makers.

The two issues have dominated headlines in Malaysia since last
month when former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who is now
Proton adviser, accused Rafidah's ministry of issuing APs
indiscriminately.

A list of AP holders made public by the government showed four
businessmen -- of which two are former senior officials who
served under Rafidah -- received the bulk of permits issued in
the past two years.

The Star newspaper's chief editor, Wong Sulong, wrote that
Rafidah's call to abolish the AP policy is causing consternation
among local car manufacturers and assemblers, who fear free auto
importation would devastate their business.