PUTRAJAYA: Proton Perdana will be retained as the official car for ministers and their deputies, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng today.
Lim explained that when the matter of the contract for the supply of cars for official government use was discussed following the conclusion of the earlier contract in 2019, his team was informed by the supplier that there was an insufficient supply of Proton Perdana units, which is why Toyota Vellfire units were recommended as an alternative.
Consequently however, confirmation that there was a sufficient supply of Proton Perdana units, was received.
“That is why we will maintain the Perdana as the official car for ministers and deputy ministers,” Lim told the media here after the monthly assembly for his ministry, adding that the new contract will be finalised after it is scrutinised by the ministry’s Procurement Committee which Lim is not part of.
Prior to this, a news portal carried a story that the government was in the process of appointing a company to supply cars for official use by ministers and senior officers in the government.
This arrangement reportedly involved 32 Toyota Vellfire units for use by ministers and 3,000 Honda Accord units for the use of senior officers.
This followed the 2019 conclusion of the government’s contract with Spanco Sdn Bhd (Spanco) for the supply of cars.
Asked if the new contract will involve Spanco, Lim said: “No, I will make an announcement later.”
He added that the new contract will need to be finalised by the Procurement Committee.
On the appointment of the new chief executive officers (CEO) for Prasarana Malaysia Bhd and Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), as well as Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook’s statement that the matter did not fall under the authority of his (Loke’s) ministry, Lim responded that the Finance Ministry would take recommendations from the Transport Ministry, adding “we are waiting for their lists.”
Yesterday, Loke had said that Prasarana is a company under the Minister of Finance Incorporated, while MAHB is partly owned by Khazanah Nasional Bhd and is listed on Bursa Malaysia’s main market.
According to recent news reports, Prasarana president and CEO Mohamed Hazlan Mohamed Hussain who was appointed to the positions on Sept 3, 2018, was suspended by the board of directors.
On Monday, MAHB informed Bursa Malaysia that its group CEO Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin had tendered his resignation to explore new opportunities, and following this development, MAHB’s chief operating officer Datuk Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh was appointed acting CEO.