Call on Liow Tiong Lai to halt the “Patriot” vanity car plate

Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai must direct Road Transport Department to halt the sales of the “Patriot” vanity car plate immediately.

It was revealed that the Road Transport Department (JPJ) will receive only RM1 million from the sales of the “Patriot” vanity vehicle plate sold by Yayasan Patriot Negara Malaysia (YPN).

This constitutes a tiny fraction of YPN’s goal of sourcing more than RM10 million in gross profit from the scheme.

According to news report, YPN Vice President Nadzim Johan told the press that “We will give JPJ RM1 million. JPJ will never lose, instead they will be making money,.”

Nadzim also revealed that the lucrative scheme was granted by the JPJ without an open tender process, when Hishammuddin Hussein was acting Transport Minister.

The perverted culture of milking cash out of approved permits for imported goods, permits for foreign workers, permits for security guards etc. has come to a new low with this “patriotic” scheme.

Soon supposedly sacred words like “patriot”, “1Malaysia” and “unity” will all be seen as the butt of jokes in Malaysia. It is making a huge mockery of patriotism.

The Road Transport Department is a public institution in which its revenue is public money. As such, even its foregone revenue, such as the amount to be pocketed by YPN via the “Patriot” plate sales, is public money too.

As Transport Minister, Liow Tiong Lai must stop such blatant abuse of public authorities for private gains via a department under his watch.

(Liew Chin Tong is also DAP’s parliamentary spokesperson for transport and public works)