Penurunan Harga Kereta - Najib Kebas Idea Pakatan Rakyat Lagi

Saya merujuk kepada laporan The Star bertarikh 21 Ogos 2012 bertajuk “Car Prices In Malaysia To Drop Gradually?”. Laporan itu memetik sumber dalaman yang rapat dengan kerajaan berhubung cadangan rombakan Dasar Automotif Kebangsaan (NAP2012) untuk mengurangkan harga kereta.

Saya mengalu-alukan perkembangan ini kerana ia jelas mengesahkan pendirian KEADILAN selama ini bahawa penurunan harga kereta melalui pengurangan cukai eksais secara berperingkat-peringkat adalah sesuatu yang mampu dilakukan.

Ia juga membuktikan bahawa kajian KEADILAN mengenai kesan buruk harga kereta yang tinggi turut dipersetujui oleh pakar-pakar dan pegawai kerajaan.

Pun begitu, ia membayangkan sikap bermuka-muka dan hipokrasi pimpinan Umno/Barisan Nasional yang secara berterusan mengkritik cadangan KEADILAN tersebut atas alasan ia akan memufliskan negara. Pemimpin seperti Saudara Khairy Jamaluddin, Ketua Pemuda Umno dan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Nor Yaakob telah membuat kenyataan rasmi menolak cadangan mengurangkan harga kereta seperti yang dibawa KEADILAN.

Oleh kerana adanya pertembungan maklumat yang disampaikan oleh pimpinan Umno/Barisan Nasional setakat ini, saya menyeru supaya Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri (MITI), Dato’ Seri Mustapha Mohamad yang bertanggungjawab merombak Dasar Automotif Kebangsaan (NAP2012) supaya berterus terang kepada rakyat apakah sebenarnya dasar kerajaan Umno/Barisan Nasional berhubung penurunan harga kereta?

Sekiranya beliau bersetuju dengan cadangan KEADILAN untuk mengurangkan cukai eksais secara berperingkat dan menurunkan harga kereta, beliau wajar memanggil kepimpinan Pakatan Rakyat untuk mengadakan rundingan meja bulat membincangkan pelaksanaan dasar ini kerana penurunan harga kereta adalah satu-satunya isu nasional yang mendapat konsensus di kedua-dua belah pihak (Pakatan Rakyat dan Barisan Nasional).

Saya juga menyeru supaya Saudara Khairy Jamaluddin dan Tan Sri Nor Yaakob menarik balik kenyataan mereka sebelum ini mengkritik cadangan KEADILAN. Malah, saya mengalu-alukan Saudara Khairy untuk turut serta bersama-sama mempromosikan kempen #turunkanhargakeretadengan menaiki kereta rasmi Cheapmobile ke tempat-tempat strategik di sekitar Kuala Lumpur dan mengedarkan pelekat kereta kempen.

Saya masih yakin bahawa penurunan harga kereta melalui pengurangan cukai eksais secara berperingkat adalah langkah pertama untuk menyelesaikan pelbagai masalah berhubung ekonomi rakyat, pengangkutan, keselamatan dan pencemaran alam sekitar.

KEADILAN percaya dengan harga kereta yang murah:

1. Beban hutang isi rumah rakyat akan diringankan dan wang lebihan boleh digunakan untuk pelaburan lain yang lebih penting seperti rumah, pendidikan, kesihatan dan lain-lain;

2. Liberalisasi pasaran kenderaan di Malaysia memaksa kerajaan meningkatkan kapasiti dan mutu pengangkutan awam di negara ini bagi mengimbangi risiko kesesakan jalan raya;

3. Harga kereta yang lebih murah memungkinkan dasar tempoh umur kereta (car scrap policy) dilaksanakan untuk mengurangkan jumlah kenderaan persendirian yang telah mencecah 10 juta;

4. Harga kereta yang lebih murah membolehkan rakyat memiliki kereta yang lebih berkualiti dan selamat, seterusnya mengurangkan kemalangan jalan raya;

5. Kereta yang lebih berkualiti dan berteknologi hijau mampu dimiliki rakyat dan mengurangkan pencemaran alam sekitar; dan

6. Lebih banyak kereta berteknologi hijau dan lebih berkualiti akan mengurangkan penggunaan petrol dan seterusnya mengurangkan beban subsidi bahan api negara.

Oleh kerana dasar harga kereta yang lebih rendah ini mempunyai kesan yang besar kepada negara seperti yang dijelaskan di atas, KEADILAN akan bekerjasama dengan rakan-rakan di dalam Pakatan Rakyat untuk membawa kempen ini ke bawah tanpa mempedulikan tindakan Umno/Barisan Nasional yang seterusnya kerana saya yakin Umno/Barisan Nasional tidak ikhlas untuk menurunkan harga kereta.

RAFIZI RAMLI
PENGARAH STRATEGI KEADILAN

Car prices in M'sia to drop gradually?

PETALING JAYA: The revised National Automotive Policy (NAP) will include a policy that will address the gradual reduction of car prices in the country, said an industry source.

“The Government, through the Malaysia Automotive Institute (MAI), had engaged us in the past few months to discuss on the matter,” he told StarBiz.

“There will be a policy that will tackle the gradual reduction of car prices in Malaysia. Details of this policy are expected to be made public in the near future,” he added.

The source said the policy would outline a structure to gradually reduce car prices over the next three to four years.

What happens to second-hand cars? Naza Group of Companies joint executive chairman SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin was quoted in a recent report as saying: if prices dropped, the resale value of a car would then plummet but the loan amount owed to banks (on cars already bought) would be unchanged.

The Government has been considering it (the reduction of car prices) in the revised NAP and it was only a matter of time for this issue to be addressed,” said the industry source.

It is a known fact that the prices of cars are high in Malaysia compared with Thailand.

However, it has been argued that the cost of vehicle ownership in Malaysia is still among the most competitive in the Asean region, primarily due to the subsidised fuel prices, cheaper road tax and insurance premiums.

In a recent news report, MAI chief executive officer Madani Sahari was quoted as saying that Malaysia had the second lowest cost of vehicle ownership in the region after the Philippines.

According to him, the cost of vehicle ownership in Malaysia, compared to Thailand and Indonesia, was lower by 39% and 12% respectively.

In terms of petrol prices, Thailand was the highest, followed by Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, Madani said in the news report.

Meanwhile, on the point of car prices being slashed overnight via the reduction of vehicle excise duties, industry observers argue that the impact would be negative for existing buyers rather than first-time ones.

“If you're a first-time buyer, it would be like a dream come true as it means you can now afford to buy a car that was too expensive previously,” said one industry observer who requested anonymity.

“For the existing buyer, it would mean that the resale value of the car would have diminished overnight,” he added.

It is also argued that the sudden drop in vehicle prices would have a severe impact on second-hand car dealers.

Those servicing existing car loans will also be severely affected.

In a local news report recently, Naza Group of Companies joint executive chairman SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin was quoted as saying that if taxes were scrapped, consumers would have to overpay bank loans taken for their vehicles.

In the report, Nasarudin claimed that if prices dropped, the resale value of a car would then plummet but the loan amount owed to banks would be unchanged. -thestar