Third Malaysia's National Car Project Will Not Use People's Money - Finance Minister

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 14 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian government on Monday gave assurance that the third national car project will neither use public funds nor money from the government. Instead, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the project, if ever implemented, would be funded by private investments. “If it comes from private (investments), then there will not be a problem,” he said when winding up the debate on the Supply (Reallocation of Appropriated Expenditure) Bill 2018 at the Lower House of Parliament (Dewan Rakyat) sitting here Monday. Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in his speech at the 24th International Conference on the Future of Asia, or Nikkei Conference, in Tokyo last June, expressed his ambition to start a new national car project, saying that Proton, which he founded in 1983, was no longer a national car. The bill was tabled following the 14th General Election on May 9, after which several ministries were restructured and renamed, several new ministries were established and one ministry was dissolved with its functions transferred to other ministries. The bill seeks to apply a sum from the Consolidated Fund for expenditure for the service of part of the year 2018 and to appropriate that sum for certain purposes for that part of the year. Under the bill, the Ministry of Economic Affairs will receive the highest allocation at RM1.3 billion (US$1 = RM4.10) -- BERNAMA