Rafidah, Queen of the APs
Rafidah had the power to decide who got public company shares or IPOs and even the Prime Minister needed her help to get shares for his sons. Because she held the Prime Minister’s secrets, she had him over the barrel and no one could touch her even if they knew she was making billions from shares and APs. Finally, with the power vested in her, she decided who got those RM2 billion a year worth of APs and not even the Prime Minister could masuk campur.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
These were the four Ministers of Trade over 30 years from 1978 to 2008:
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad: 3 years from 1978 to 1981
Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen Tengku Ismail: 3 years from 1981 to 1984
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah: 3 years from 1984-1987
Rafidah Aziz: 21 years from 1987 to 2008
Yes, those were the four Ministers of Trade over 30 years and for 21 of those 30 years Rafidah controlled the Ministry and not even the Prime Minister could interfere in what she regarded as her private domain.
But it was not until 2005 that the world outside the motor industry discovered that the Ministry of Trade was actually a money-printing machine, although those in the motor industry already knew about it since the 1970s.
This was what The Sun Daily reported on 18th January 2016:
It is an open secret that the Open Approved Permits (APs) to import foreign vehicles into the country are ‘cash cows’ to the permit holders. The lack of transparency and accountability on how the AP holders are selected has led to a system that is open to abuse.
The controversy related to the APs, which were initially issued in the 1970s to encourage bumiputra participation in the used-car industry, ‘exploded’ in 2005 when it was revealed that a handful of individuals monopolised the AP business. It was reported that among the few ‘AP Kings’ then were the late Tan Sri SM Nasimuddin SM Amin, Tan Sri Syed Azman Syed Ibrahim and Datuk Seri Mohd Haniff Abdul Aziz.
They collectively received 33,218 APs, which was about 50.1% of a total of 66,277 for 2004 and 28,283 APs, or 41% of 68,330 for 2005 alone, according to a list released by the government. According to the documents, the four ‘AP Kings’ were earning RM1 billion a year just from the sale of the APs.
However, the AP system introduced to help bumiputra entrepreneurs in the automotive business has backfired, with some trading in the licences for a quick profit instead. These Open APs are deemed to be highly lucrative and can be resold for up to RM50,000 per permit depending on the car model.
Yes, the four ‘AP Kings’ received RM1 billion a year from their AP quotas. But if you are in the motor industry then you would know that the four ‘AP Kings’ actually have a ‘Queen’ who calls the shots and that these four ‘AP Kings’ are merely proxies of the ‘Queen’, a.k.a. the ‘Iron Lady’. And that ‘Queen’ was Rafidah Aziz who ruled the Ministry for 21 years and not even the Prime Minister could shake her.
The AP business is estimated to be worth RM2 billion a year where half of that or RM1 billion goes to just four Malays. And Rafidah has a cut of the action. Just from the APs alone Rafidah is said to be worth RM8 billion. And there is still the ‘pink forms’ business that Rafidah controls.
In yesterday’s article, ‘Rafidah Revealed That Mahathir Is Corrupt’ (READ HERE), we said:
Rafidah should not have chaired that meeting at all instead of stepping out only when the committee discussed the approval of shares to her son-in-law. Rafidah, however, defended her actions by saying that she was forced to chair that meeting because the committee was also discussing the approval of shares to Mahathir’s son and Mahathir had instructed her to make sure that the committee approved those shares to his son.
Yes, Rafidah controlled not only the AP quotas but the allocation of public company shares as well. For every new listing, a certain portion of those shares would be reserved for Bumiputeras to meet the aspirations of the New Economic Policy (NEP). And Rafidah decided which Bumiputeras got those shares. ‘Pink forms’ are big business and millionaires are created from ‘pink forms’ alone. And Rafidah had the power to decide who became those millionaires.
Rafidah had the power to decide who got public company shares or IPOs and even the Prime Minister needed her help to get shares for his sons. Because she held the Prime Minister’s secrets, she had him over the barrel and no one could touch her even if they knew she was making billions from shares and APs. Finally, with the power vested in her, she decided who got those RM2 billion a year worth of APs and not even the Prime Minister could masuk campur.
To be continued.
