KUALA LUMPUR (March 14): International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Darell Leiking today denied allegations made by an automotive portal that the 28 new Approved Permit (AP) holders had sold their APs to established holders for "easy" money.

Leiking was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Malaysian Investment Development Authority’s (MIDA) annual media conference this evening. Questions were raised to him on the veracity of these allegations that were “not true”.

“If there are allegations of abuse, we want to see (the) proof. Don’t create stories and leave it at that. If there is proof, why don’t you show me who are these people and that they are selling their APs,” said Leiking, adding that the approval process of AP holders is stringent.

“What we want to do is to get to the truth, tangkap (catch) whoever sells the AP. And if these people do, we expose who they are — their directors and families — because that’s wrong (to do this). The Government never allows, and never thought that they will sell [it],” Leiking said.

An Open AP is an import permit facility given by MITI to qualified Bumiputera companies to import reconditioned vehicles for sale in the domestic market. The companies are subjected to conditions and rules imposed by the Ministry.

Miti yesterday issued a statement to announce that the New Open Approved Permit Policy has been implemented with effect from Jan 1 this year.

Under the new policy, there is no limit to the overall number of APs to be released throughout the year and companies may apply for additional APs based on their sales performance.

It said that at the moment, most of the new companies are not fully in operation as they need to fulfil the technical requirements and they are required to be prepared for business operational matters.