Anwar's borrowed BMW's number plate creates a 'who owns it' buzz
PKR president Anwar Ibrahim may not have a car to his name, but he is traversing the campaign trail in style - with a loaned BMW Series 7 sedan being one of the vehicles he uses.
However, the licence plate on the luxury car caused a stir today after a former aide to the late Abdul Khalid Ibrahim claimed it was a "clone" of the ex-Selangor menteri besar's licence plate.
Checks later found this to be false.
The allegations made by the former aide, Faekah Husin, were based on a screenshot of a TikTok video on nomination day, where the number plate on the BMW appeared to be BEN1.
Faekah said BEN1 is still registered under Khalid's name and is being used on a Mitsubishi Pajero that the family still owns.
"I immediately checked with Khalid's family whether they had disposed of the car, and found that they hadn't.
"The car is still in (Khalid's) name. (So), is the PM candidate using a car fitted with a phony licence plate?" she tweeted this morning.
BEN1 is now fitted to a Pajero
However, Malaysiakini's checks showed that the BMW's licence plate is actually BEM1.
Sources with access to vehicle registration information indicated that while BEN1 still belongs to a Pajero under Khalid's name, there is a BMW Series 7 that matches the description of the car used by Anwar and registered as BEM1.
This was confirmed by a PKR insider, who forwarded a photo of the vehicle being used by Anwar for his campaign trail in this 15th general election campaign.
Meanwhile, initial checks also revealed that BEM1 used to belong to another former Selangor menteri besar, Muhammad Muhammad Taib.
Selangor menteri besar Muhammad Muhammad Taib
When contacted, Muhammad confirmed to Malaysiakini that BEM1 was the plate number of his Mercedes during his years as the menteri besar, but its ownership had since passed hands.
"I sold the car around 15 years ago," he said.
Asked if he knows who is the new owner of the BEM1 plate number, the retired politician said he sold the car via an agent and thus had no such knowledge.
Anwar, during a dialogue with students yesterday, said the car was loaned by one "Datuk Sham" to him.
"The 7 Series I'm using now, it's not mine. It was loaned to me by Datuk Sham. He said, 'you use this for one month'.
"So I am not a bloody hypocrite. Some people use luxury cars (in the capital) but when they go back to their constituency, they drive Proton Saga," Anwar said.
Faekah was unapologetic when netizens confronted her about the error in her claim.
However, she retweeted one reply that explained the plate on the loaned BMW was BEM1 and not BEN1.
She said "Alhamdulillah (thank God)" in her retweet.
When contacted, Muhammad confirmed to Malaysiakini that BEM1 was the plate number of his Mercedes during his years as the menteri besar, but its ownership had since passed hands.
"I sold the car around 15 years ago," he said.
Asked if he knows who is the new owner of the BEM1 plate number, the retired politician said he sold the car via an agent and thus had no such knowledge.
Anwar, during a dialogue with students yesterday, said the car was loaned by one "Datuk Sham" to him.
"The 7 Series I'm using now, it's not mine. It was loaned to me by Datuk Sham. He said, 'you use this for one month'.
"So I am not a bloody hypocrite. Some people use luxury cars (in the capital) but when they go back to their constituency, they drive Proton Saga," Anwar said.
Faekah was unapologetic when netizens confronted her about the error in her claim.
However, she retweeted one reply that explained the plate on the loaned BMW was BEM1 and not BEN1.
She said "Alhamdulillah (thank God)" in her retweet.
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