PETALING JAYA: MCA president Wee Ka Siong says Putrajaya’s claim that the new national car project would not involve public funds is false as the federal government is the largest shareholder in DreamEDGE Sdn Bhd, the company driving the project.
In a Facebook post, Wee zeroed in on Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng who had repeatedly said the project will be privately financed. He said DreamEDGE’s largest shareholder was a company called Venturetech Sdn Bhd, which is 100% owned by Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology .Citing DreamEDGE’s paid-up capital of RM12.4 million up till 2018 and the losses it suffered last year, Wee voiced doubt that the Cyberjaya-based company had the financial strength to invest in the third national car project.
Earlier today, it was announced that DreamEDGE will develop the third national car in collaboration with Daihatsu Motors in Japan, with the first model ready by 2021 and mass production by 2031. The announcement ended speculation on who will fund the latest automobile project, after more than a year of debate on whether the government should venture into the car industry following the bad experience faced by Proton, the first national car, not long ago.Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.