Perak government should go into auction business

because...according to this Star report:

MB: We won’t lose out in Camry auction
Saturday April 25, 2009
By SYLVIA LOOI

IPOH: The Perak government will not be making any losses in auctioning off the Toyota Camrys at a lower price than paid by the Pakatan Rakyat administration.

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir said the state had set a reserve price of RM148,000, some RM10,000 lower than the price paid by Pakatan, but bidders were already offering a higher amount.

“If the bid price is higher, we will already have made money,” he told reporters after opening the Young Entrepreneurs Association of Malaysia roadshow here yesterday.

On the statement by former Pakatan exco member Nga Kor Ming that the Camry cars should not have been auctioned off pending the disposal of a court case by former mentri besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin challenging Dr Zambry’s appointment, Dr Zambry said:

“I am carrying out my responsibility as the mentri besar. It is usual of him. Whatever things I say would not be good.”
On whether the state would get new cars to replace the 16 Camrys, Dr Zambry said the state was contemplating it.

“But at this stage, we will use whatever cars we are using now,” he said, adding that he had instructed the state financial officer to discuss with Proton on the service aspect, which was a major complaint.

On whether the auction would draw the people’s ire, Dr Zambry said the rakyat had a right to be angry if the state did not sell off the Camry cars but spent money to buy other cars.

“Now we are putting the cars on sale in the market,” he said.

Asked why the Barisan Nasional administration did not continue using the Camrys, Dr Zambry said it was the state government’s stand to use only national cars.

On Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in his blog, blaming Barisan’s loss in the recent Bukit Gantang by-election to too many portraits of the candidate Ismail Safian and the Mentri Besar, Dr Zambry said there were other aspects.

He noted that there was strong support for Barisan from a certain race but less so from other races.

Under normal circumstances, cars depreciate but this is not normal circumstance. We are talking about a MB with Federal and Royal backing, backed by BN’s limitless funds at their disposal.

With all the criticisms against the auction, mainly on the point of financial loss, the amount necessary to prevent a loss is chicken feed to them. There is no shortage of business cronies willing to help if and when necessary. They can make the auction a real success just to refute all the allegations of waste of government money.

In fact, Nizar’s car in particular, is likely to fetch higher because of its special significance. They can either bid to make it exceptionally expensive for him to buy and at the same time show a profit for all to see that the whole exercise was a good idea after all; or have someone to buy and give it to him at his original bid, or even for free to show how magnanimous they can be!




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