SHAH ALAM, 7 Oct: The Chief Executive of Ideas, Wan Saiful Wan Jan, agrees that Malaysia is among the countries offering high prices for cars to the people dues to its high vehicle tax.
This assertion is supported by an article on a popular portal, Jalopnik, which listed Malaysia as the second most expensive country to buy cars, behind Singapore, in the article entitled ’10 Most Expensive Places To Buy A Car’.
Based on his experience of living in the United Kingdom (UK) for nearly 18 years, Wan Saiful stated that the government should review the existing vehicle tax which is considered high, seeing that cars are a necessity of life for the people in this country.
“I personally have experience regarding cars. I lived in the UK for about 18 years. And I can say that there, by working at a mediocre job, one is able to afford to buy, for example, a Volkswagen Passat.
“But here, the Passat has become a luxury car. So I guess the difference in price in indeed high due to the tax imposed by the government,” he said when contacted by TVSelangor.
According to him, despite Malaysia having its own large national car manufacturers like Proton and Perodua, they still have to face the vehicle tax just like other vehicle manufacturers, even though national cars should be sold at lower prices from what they are now.
Thus, the existing vehicle tax should be abolished so that consumers can enjoy vehicles at a low price.
“The tax imposed on Perodua and Proton is not much different from other cars, just that its cost is lower.
“Cars like Proton Preve, for example, can be sold at RM65,000 to RM70,000. So it can compete with other cars of the same class.
“It is not the issue that we have national cars. The real issue is that the tax imposed on any national car is the same tax.
“If the tax does not exist or is lower, I think national cars would be significantly lower (in price) as it is now,” he said.