How many years do you need to work to buy a Msian politician’s car?

It’s undeniably one of the best feelings in the world to buy your first car; for most, it’s a rite of passage that means you’ve worked hard to conquer the obstacle of, well, not owning a personal vehicle.

But for some, it’s often not enough to stop at just one. In fact, we’ve got a few car connoisseurs among our politicians whose collections of extravagant rides can sometimes garner some negative attention.

So we decided to compile a list of these politicians and their swanky rides, as well as the reasons these rides got highlighted in the first place. Aaand to put some ‘peasant perspective’ onto it, we also decided to calculate how many years it would take for a person to buy these rides using the lowest common denominator: minimum wage (which is set to increase to RM1,500 per month on 1st May).

Note: For the sake of simplicity, we’ll won’t be factoring in stuff like taxes, instalments, interest, etc. This will just be a calculation of how long it takes to earn the full amount of the car. Also note that elected officials like MPs can buy cars at a hugely discounted price as they are exempted from excise duties, so don’t feel too bad about not being able to afford that Ferrari.

 

1) Official government car

Toyota Vellfire 2.5L

Country of origin: Japan

Cost: estimated RM345,000 (monthly RM5,759; includes RM4,852 rental and RM908 maintenance)

Years needed to afford on minimum wage: 19.2 years

Besides being the perfect vehicles to kidnap someone in, Vellfires and Alphards seem to be the VIP vehicle of choice; there’s just something about them that screams ‘bossku’. Unsurprising then, that our government made it their official car late last year from the Proton Perdana 2.4L, citing reasons of ‘security’ and ‘comfort’.

Amidst huge public criticism, interestingly, the Vellfire switch was said to have been a cost-cutting measure, as Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul claimed that the rental for the previous Perdana cars was RM2.80 higher, potentially saving RM8,400 over a period of 5 years for the 50 units leased. Which kinda makes sense if you think about it… except that many of our cabinet ministers already have luxury cars bought at discounted prices (hence the reason for this article).

We actually really liked this opinion piece by YS Chan via Malaysiakini suggesting a fixed RM4,000 monthly vehicle allowance, which would ultimately lead to a total saving of RM5.2 million over 5 years for 50 units, with each individual being responsible for their own vehicle purchases and maintenance. Of course, that’s just an opinion; it won’t change much since the deal has already been done.

 

2) Ahmad Yakob (Kelantan Chief Minister)

Mercedes-Benz S450 L AMG (with special number plate DV1)

Country of origin: Germany

Cost: RM699,888

Years needed to afford with minimum wage: 38.9 years

With Kelantan having the second-highest poverty rate in Malaysia, it’s certainly not a good look for its Chief Minister to have a car worth more than most Malaysians’ houses, which is why question marks were drawn with the unveiling of Ahmad Yakob’s new S-Class in 2020.

However, Ahmad Yakob isn’t the only Kelantan government official to use a Mercedes-Benz; in fact, a total of 14 models were purchased for the state’s leaders, revealed to have been for ‘security reasons’. Some speculated that the purchases had been funded by the then-PH government’s RM400 million cash injection (though Ahmad Yakob’s office denied this):

“We want to know the source of funds that was used to buy the new Mercedes for the Menteri Besar. Was it paid using petroleum royalty?” – Husam Musa, Kelantan Pakatan Harapan chairman

But shade was thrown when veteran journalist A Kadir Jasin sarcastically ‘justified’ the purchase by saying that Kelantan’s people should rejoice to see their leaders in ‘a state of fun and enjoyment’:

“What’s the point of having power if you don’t use it? The poor have always been informed and taught by religious leaders that life in this world is temporary – it’s hard in this world but you’ll be happy in the hereafter.” – A Kadir Jasin

 

3) Chow Kon Yeow (Penang Chief Minister)

Mercedes-Benz S560E (with special number plate PG1, cos Penang one better)

Country of origin: Germany

Cost: RM458,122.78 (after discount of RM127,765.22)

Years needed to afford with minimum wage: 25.5 years

Bought in 2021 to replace previous Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s Mercedes-Benz S300L (RM298,263.75) (which was in turn bought to replace Lim’s previous Mercedes-Benz S320), the purchase was quite strange considering they had criticized Kelantan PAS leaders for doing the same thing (see previous point). Even the same justification of security was given by Lim Guan Eng in 2014 following the purchase of his car.

But perhaps what made things worse was the timing of the purchase: it was unveiled in January 2021, during the height of the pandemic lockdowns. Syed Saddiq strongly voiced his view on the car, saying:

“There is no necessity to buy the luxury car using the people’s money when hundreds of thousands have lost jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic and thousands are affected by bad flooding.” – Syed Saddiq

Chow later apologized if he had offended anyone, taking full responsibility and even offering to postpone the purchase.

 

4) Mukhriz Mahathir (then-Kedah Chief Minister)

Volvo S90 T8 Twin Engine Inscription

Country of origin: Sweden (owned by Geely in China)

Cost: RM368,888

Years needed to afford with minimum wage: 20.5 years

It’s no secret that former PM Tun Dr Mahathir is a champion advocate of local products. He bemoaned the negative response towards his idea for a new national car, saying:

“Malaysians prefer to buy imported cars, including those from China. Their choice is Japanese cars and those with a lot of money (choose) German cars.” – Tun Dr Mahathir

It’s ironic then, that his own son opted for a Chinese-owned Swedish make as his official car: a hybrid Volvo S90 T8 Twin Inscription. Yes, back when he was Chief Minister of Kedah, Mahathir Jr took some heat over the car, but defended his decision by claiming it was a locally-assembled trade-in that was actually saving the government money:

“That’s the reason for its affordability despite the car being a hybrid. This also shows that the state government cares about the environment and is trying to reduce fuel consumption and air pollution.” – Mukhriz Mahathir

Now that’s PR 101 for you, kids.

 

4) Tun Dr Mahathir

Proton Perdana 2.4L Limousine (with special number plate Malaysia 2020, extended wheelbase)

Country of origin: Malaysia

Cost: RM126,850 (discontinued)

Years needed to afford with minimum wage: 7 years

Well, say what you want about him, but he definitely walked the talk. Although his own son went for a foreign vehicle, Mahathir himself used good ol’ Proton during his second tenure as Malaysia’s Prime Minister. Granted, he does have a personal collection of ‘modest but tasteful’ cars, but they’re mostly in storage anyway, and the fact that he chose a local car for daily use speaks volumes.

And as it turns out, Mahathir’s choice is probably the most sensible of the lot: it would take a minimum wage earner only 7 years to buy at full price, and since it’s been discontinued, you can even get it for a second-hand price of RM65,800 (3.3 years on minimum wage) nowadays.

But don’t let its relatively low price fool you, though; this car is no slouch. It’s actually a rebadged Honda Accord (hence the nickname ‘Accordana’), which means it does come with some of the common Accord problems and a higher maintenance cost and road tax, but is still overall a pretty solid car.

Japanese reliability for Malaysian pricing? Absolute value. Quite tragic though, that Dr M’s personal Perdana is now collecting dust in some abandoned warehouse in Surrey, UK. Any takers?

 

5) Bonus round: Nazir Hussin Akhtar Hussin (UMNO Youth Leader)

Ducati Superleggera V4

Country of origin: Italy (German-owned)

Cost: RM888,000

Years needed to afford with minimum wage: 49 years

Bonus obviously because it’s a bike, not a car. Also, because Nazir isn’t actually an MP. But we still thought this deserved a mention, because this bike in particular happens to be the most expensive motorcycle in the world, with only 500 units ever made. And Titiwangsa UMNO Youth Leader Nazir Hussin happens to be the proud owner of one.

In fact, he has a mouthwatering collection of supercars that would be the envy of an Emirati oil tycoon, including at least two Lamborghinis and six Ducatis.

However, despite being grilled by netizens and journalists alike, Nazir defended his lifestyle with this 24-minute video on Instagram, saying that none of his income was from taxpayers’ money, as he was not a civil servant, and had amassed his wealth from his businesses:

“I’m just an ordinary person who happens to be Youth Leader of an UMNO wing. This is my lifestyle. I cannot please everyone.” – Nazir Hussin (translated from BM by Cilisos)

To his credit, Nazir has his own charity, the Hussin Foundation, who he claims contribute RM50,000-RM200,000 a month towards feeding the needy. An ex-employee of his brother jumped to his defence as well, praising him for his generosity.

 

Is owning fancy cars appropriate for politicians?

Sure, it’s only human to want a particular lifestyle for yourself and your family, but given that politicians keep having to apologize for or defend their lifestyles, one has to wonder if having such cars funded by taxpayers (with the exception of Nazir, of course) is the most tasteful move, especially considering Malaysia’s recent economic hardships.

Because politicians in other countries can get by just fine without; in fact, Sweden gives its government officials train cards, and multiple British PMs and MPs have been known to use the Tube.

“I’m the one who pays the politicians. And I see no reason to give them a life of luxury.” – Joakim Holm, Swedish citizen

There’s also the whole question of discounts on cars for Malaysian government officials: is it really necessary, especially after the government lost RM4.89 billion worth of excise duty exemptions from 2015-2017 to locally-assembled vehicles alone?

Of course, nothing we say in this article would likely change much. But at the end of the day, politicians do have to realize that their positions carry with them an enormous amount of scrutiny, and when stories of their flashy cars keep getting out, the people will inevitably continue to wonder why they can’t even keep food on their plate.