Skandal AP Rafidah berjumlah RM95 bilion lebih besar dari 1MDB
Pada tahun 2005 jumlah itu sememangnya besar, dianggarkan melebihi RM60 bilion atau lebih daripada RM2.5 bilion setahun selama kira-kira 30 tahun. Semenjak itu, ianya dianggarkan mencapai RM95 bilion. Dan Rafidah Aziz berada di pertengahan skandal ini kerana pemegang AP juga adalah pemegang saham proksinya dan dia bahkan secara terbuka memiliki hubungan dengan salah seorang pemegang AP
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Mereka mengatakan skandal 1MDB berjumlah RM42 bilion (Lim Guan Eng pula berkata ia adalah RM50 bilion). Skandal AP Rafidah Aziz, pula, dianggarkan sekurang-kurangnya RM95 bilion. Skandal ini, pada mulanya, hanya bisikan dikalangan yang berkuasa. Tetapi, ia menjadi pengetahuan umum pada 2005 apabila Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad mengarahkan kerajaan untuk mendedahkan skandal tersebut.
Malah pada tahun 2005 jumlah itu sememangnya besar, dianggarkan melebihi RM60 bilion atau lebih daripada RM2.5 bilion setahun selama kira-kira 30 tahun. Semenjak itu, ianya dianggarkan mencapai RM95 bilion. Dan Rafidah Aziz berada di pertengahan skandal ini kerana pemegang AP juga adalah pemegang saham proksinya dan dia bahkan secara terbuka memiliki hubungan dengan salah seorang pemegang AP.
Rafidah Aziz, bekas ‘tycoon’ Umno yang menyertai PPBM, menyebabkan pembeli kereta Malaysia menanggung RM95 billion
Bagaimanapun, Rafidah kini disambut sebagai ahli baru PPBM dan dia mahu diketahui bahawa dia tidak sama seperti semua bekas ahli Umno yang bodoh sama ada yang sudah menyertai atau baru nak menyertai PPBM. Dalam erti kata lain, semua bekas ahli Umno yang menyertai atau baru nak menyertai PPBM adalah bertujuan untuk melepaskan diri daripada tuduhan rasuah. Manakala Rafidah pula tidak menghadapi risiko untuk ditangkap atas tuduhan rasuah walaupun dia tidak menyertai PPBM.
Pendek kata, dia tidak dipaksa menyertai PPBM seperti bekas ahli Umno yang lain. Dan itu bermakna, menurut pada dia, dia tidaklah bodoh seperti bekas-bekas ahli Umno yang lain.
Jadi, soalan yang lebih penting sekarang ialah, skandal AP beranggaran sehingga RM95 bilion. Tetapi, dari mana datangnya duit itu? Dalam isu 1MDB, duit itu datangnya dari bank. Walau bagaimanapun, duit AP RM95 bilion, datangnya daripada para pembeli kereta di Malaysia. Pembeli kereta di Malaysia perlu membayar harga yang lebih tinggi untuk kereta yang mereka beli supaya kos AP ini dapat dilindungi.
‘Benda yang baik’ mengenai skandal AP ini adalah, kerajaan tidak kehilangan duit kerana ini menglibatkan pembeli-pembeli kereta, bukan kerajaan Malaysia yang membayar RM95 bilion ini. Oleh itu, bukan pembayar-pembayar cukailah yang dirompak. Yang dirompak adalah pembeli kereta, yang berkemungkinan pembayar cukai atau bukan pembayar cukai.
Dalam erti kata, ianya adalah baik. Rakyat Malaysia yang kaya, khususnya Cina, yang berkemampuan membeli kereta import, membayar RM95 bilion ini, sementara rakyat Malaysia yang miskin, seperti Bumiputera, yang tidak mampu membeli kereta import dan menaiki motosikal, tidak perlu untuk membayar apa-apa.
Selamat datang ke PPBM, Rafidah, bekas “tycoon” Umno untuk menyertai parti itu. Apa yang dimaksudkan dengan PPBM sebagai parti “billionaires” yang dikatakan oleh Zaid Ibrahim semalam?
**************************************************
AP issue continues to haunt Rafidah
(The Star, 20 November 2008) – The issue of unfair allocation of approved permits (APs) for imported cars continued to haunt former International Trade and Industry Minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz when the matter came up again during the debate on the Budget.
Mohamed Azmin Ali (PKR – Gombak) alleged that APs were given to Rafidah’s relatives after a committee chaired by the then Miti secretary-general Tan Sri Sidek Hassan decided not to stop awarding franchise APs in 2005.
He said franchise APs of Volkswagen were given to Autostadt Sdn Bhd owned by Zulkifli Ishak – whose wife Annie Tajol Arus, is Rafidah’s niece – without the approval of the said committee.
“Until now the company has no showroom but has only dealers to sell the cars,” he said, adding that another company Aminrah Ventures Sdn Bhd, which also does not have a showroom, was given 150 APs last year while 225 APs approved this year were given to other relatives of Rafidah.
Azmin Ali dedah pada tahun 2008 yang skandal AP berjumlah RM2.5 bilion setahun
Earlier, Azmin questioned why 45,682 APs were given to 77 companies between 2004 and 2006, adding that Naza Consortium, which had a 8,481 APs, was able to rake in RM424mil.
“My question is why is Naza allotted so many APs and why APs were given to only 77 companies,” he said, calling it unfair and not transparent.
In reply to this, Miti Deputy Minister Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan said an audit was being conducted on the APs issued to Naza and the allocation of APs in general would also be reviewed.
To a statement by Lim Kit Siang (DAP – Ipoh Timur) that more APs were issued as the Umno election was around the corner, Jacob denied it, stating that the number of APs issued over the years had reduced.
In 2005 the number of APs issued were 70,381 while 60,460 were issued in 2006, he said, adding that 50,304 were issued last year while this year 44,168 have been issued.
Datuk Ibrahim Ali (Independent – Pasir Mas) also asked the ministry to reduce the number of APs to only 5% of the market demand.
“Japan and South Korea do not allow imported cars at all,” he said.
**************************************************
Government releases list of Approved Permit holders
(The Star, 19 July 2005) – They were said to have had the most number of Approved Permits to import cars. It is now confirmed that Tan Sri Nasimuddin SM Amin, Datuk Syed Azman Syed Ibrahim, Datuk Mohd Haniff Abdul Aziz and Datuk Azzuddin Ahmad are the AP kings.
According to the list of AP recipients released by the Government yesterday, the four – all involved in selling imported cars – were given more than 28,000 of the 67,158 APs allocated thus far this year.
Each AP can be sold for between RM20,000 and RM30,000.
The list, which is expected to be hotly debated at the 51st Umno General Assembly beginning Thursday, was released by the Prime Minister’s office amid the controversy surrounding the issuance of APs.
Of the number, Nasimuddin, managing director of the Naza Motor Group, held 12,524 APs mainly under Naza Kia Sdn Bhd.
For Nasimuddin, five of his six companies which received APs had other shareholders. His brother, Datuk SM Shalahuddin, was listed as a shareholder in five while in one company, Naza-Brabus Sdn Bhd, one Datin Zaleha Ismail is listed as the third shareholder.
Syed Azman, Mohd Haniff and Azzuddin received a total of 15,759 APs under several companies.
The list also indicated the year from which the recipients had been getting APs, but did not state the total received over the years.
Malaysia terkejut apabila pada tahun 2005 Mahathir dedahkan rahsia yang kos AP kepada pembeli kereta ialah RM2.5 bilion setahun selama 30 tahun
The announcement came as a surprise as it was the first time that the names of AP recipients had been made public. Government leaders had earlier said that the policy of not revealing the names would remain.
The AP issue made newspaper headlines when former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said that the issuance of large numbers of these permits had led to unfair competition against national car Proton.
Many importers, said Dr Mahathir, were also under-declaring the prices of cars.
He had questioned how 20 companies were given the bulk of more than 50,000 APs when the Government’s objective was to assist as many bumiputra businessmen as possible by spreading out the issuance of such permits.
The statement from the Prime Minister’s office accompanying the list said there were two types of APs – open APs and franchise APs.
Under the open APs, the issuance of which was terminated in 1988, permit holders were allowed to import new and used cars from any source.
Franchise APs are issued to companies which have exclusive agency agreements with foreign car manufacturers.
‘AP Queen’ Rafidah ada hubungan sulit dengan satu dari ‘AP King’ di atas
The AP, issued by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, was introduced in 1970 with the objective of providing opportunities for bumiputra entrepreneurs in the motor vehicle sector.
Nasimuddin, who obtained his first AP in 1988, imports Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot, Ferrari, Mazda, Maserati, Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Brabus cars.
Syed Azman and Mohd Haniff, both former ministry officers, emerged on the AP scene in 2002.
Under two companies, Atlantic Star Auto Sdn Bhd and Auto Pacific Star Sdn Bhd, the former ministry officers obtained a further 5,669 APs to import Ford and Chevrolet cars. They also received APs to import Audi cars under Territorial Star Sdn Bhd.
Other major recipients included:
HYUMAL Motor Sdn Bhd – owned by Berjaya Group Bhd, Sime Darby Bhd and Tan Sri Vincent Tan – to import Hyundai cars (18,573 APs);
CARTRADE Sdn Bhd, of which Datuk Ilyas Mohamed and Zahran Ahmad are the shareholders, to bring in BMW and MINI cars (11,237);
AMAZING Tempo Sdn Bhd, of which Tunku Datuk Zainol Tengku Izham and Ramzia Arshad are shareholders, to import Wald cars from Japan (12,025); and
ALADO Bumi Automobile Sdn Bhd – of which Datuk Ayob Saad, Tan Sri Cam Soh Thiam Hong and Soh Ah Gong – are shareholders to import Chery vehicles from China (12,496).
