JPM also clarified that it was the police that advises the department on which car to use for the prime minister and hence why the armoured BMW was chosen.
MALAYSIAN POLITICS have a tendency of hitting infamous lows, so much so that we have become used to it and there is nothing that can surprise us anymore.
Gutter politics seems to be the norm here. But the recent uproar about the Prime Minister’s official car has me wondering – why wouldn’t we want our Prime Minister to move around in a car that will keep him safe?
It doesn’t matter what side of the political divide we stand on, but a head of state should have the right to move around in a car that keeps him or her safe and comfortable in any scenario.
For context, our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was recently seen in a pre-facelift, armoured G70 BMW 7-Series. Specifically, the car in question is known as the BMW 7-Series Protection.
This is basically a 7-Series designed to survive a hail of bullets, sniper attacks and bomb blasts. It is nothing short of a technological wonder with a self-sealing fuel tank, run flat tyres that can operate as normal at speeds of up to 80kph even when flat, and more.
Yes, it is incredibly safe, and it is powerful as well, with a 4.4-litre, twin-turbo V8 engine providing 530PS and 750Nm of torque. And despite the added weight from all the layers of armoured panels, it can still accelerate to 100kph in 6.6 seconds and has a top speed of 210kph.
It is not exactly cheap either with prices ranging from US$500,000 (RM2.04m) to over US$1 million (RM4.08m), depending on the specifications of the car.
It is unclear how much the government paid for the car, or if they paid for it at all as car makers are sometimes known to donate cars to governments around the world. But here’s the thing, the car is not new.
The government did not just suddenly spend a ton of money on the car. In fact, it is not even the latest model, it is the previous generation model so that means it has been in the market for a while.
So where did it come from? After the social media uproar, the prime minister’s department (JPM) released a statement regarding the use of the said BMW by Anwar.
The department clarified that the BMW is not the prime minister’s official car but is being used temporarily while the official car is being repaired.
The BMW is also not new and is part of an existing government asset that was loaned to JPM by the International Conference Ceremonies and Secretariat Division (Biupa). The bulletproof BMW is used by foreign heads of state during official visits to Malaysia.
JPM also clarified that it was the police that advises the department on which car to use for the prime minister and hence why the armoured BMW was chosen.
The government did not spend unnecessary money on it, which just means that the entire argument that the prime minister rolling around in an armoured BMW while the rakyat is suffering from increased prices on the ground is unnecessary as well as invalid. What do you expect the prime minister to do? Go around in the old Proton Perdana?
Stick to the old Toyota Camry? Like him or not, he’s the head of our country, and the world is watching.
What is more interesting though is that the BMW is only temporary. His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, King of Malaysia, has gifted JPM with a brand-new Mercedes-Benz S580e. But the hybrid luxury sedan has encountered known reliability issues and is currently under repair.
I for one have no issues with whatever car the prime minister goes around in, as long as the government does not spend unnecessary money on it while the Rakyat have to deal with increased cost of living. And I fail to see why anyone will have a problem with it.
Keshy Dhillon has been a motoring journalist for over a decade and has written for and founded a number of Malaysian motoring titles including Piston.my, Bikesrepulic.com, Motomalaya.net and other mass media titles. Passionate and infinitely curious about anything with a wheels and an engine, Keshy can be contacted at [email protected].
