Ex-minister smells graft after Putrajaya ditches Proton for Toyota

Ex-minister smells graft after Putrajaya ditches Proton for Toyota

Muda leader Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman suspected that there was possible impropriety in the government’s decision to replace its fleet of cars for top government officials with a foreign make.

“There must be a reason. The question is, who profited? Who is the middleman? Who received commissions? We have to investigate,” he said in a video clip posted on his Facebook page.

Syed Saddiq (above) said when he was still in the cabinet, he had objected to a proposal to replace the fleet with the Toyota Vellfire on grounds that this would save money.

Moreover, he said the cabinet at the time wanted to support Proton, which was a domestic vehicle brand.

“Currently, people are suffering because of Covid-19 but the government has approved the Toyota Vellfire replacement fleet?

“Why all of a sudden? We should be helping the people. How will buying a lot of Vellfires help the people?” Syed Saddiq asked.



Putrajaya had quietly started leasing Toyota Vellfire 2.5 vehicles for cabinet ministers since April at a monthly cost of RM5,759.35 per vehicle.

This was only revealed when Putrajaya was forced to reply to a written question from Bayan Baru MP Sim Tze Tzin.

Following this, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz claimed that the move was necessary because it was cheaper to lease the Vellfires compared to the Proton Perdana.


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