AP: Two letters which, when glommed together, have taken on a double meaning in today's Malaysia. Ayah Pin, charismatic leader of a "deviant" group, is being enthusiastically prosecuted by state religious authorities. His accused crime: Apostasy, the sin of extolling another entity (other than Allah) as God.
But AP also stands for Approved Permit. The question is, who approves? Yes, the permits are approved. But in order to get an AP, you'd have to be the sole distributor of a foreign car manufacturer and your company would have to have 70% bumiputra equity. (Much further analysis is required regarding the bumi equity percentage in certain industries. For one thing, is it in line with the principle of non-discrimination? Does Islam support discrimination along ethnic lines? And so on and so forth.)
Behold the article as follows.
Permit AP: Malang sungguh rakyat Malaysia
Terima kasih kepada bekas Perdana Menteri Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad yang meminta nama pemegang AP (approved permit) didedahkan. Kalau beliau tidak membuka mulut, sampai sekarangpun rakyat tidak tahu betapa mereka menjadi `mangsa' mereka yang diberi keistimewaan (baca: kroni) perniagaan atas angin ini.
Hari ini tahulah kita betapa murahnya harga kereta siap pasang (CBU). Menurut laporan akhbar, sebuah kereta import 1.0 liter jenama popular dari Korea Selatan hanya berharga RM8,762 apabila tiba di Pelabuhan Kelang.
Namun, setelah dikenakan cukai, harga kereta tersebut menjadi RM22,868. Ia dijual pula oleh pemegang permit AP dengan harga RM46,000! Bayangkan, selepas cukai 160 peratus pun, mereka masih boleh mengaut keuntungan lebih 100 peratus.
Begitulah juga dengan kereta 1.3 liter jenama Korea Selatan yang berharga RM11,000 apabila tiba di Pelabuhan Kelang. Tetapi apabila sampai ke tangan pembeli, harganya menjadi RM59,000 hingga RM63,000! Maknanya, setelah dicampur cukai, dan keuntungan besar 'orang-orang istimewa' ini, rakyat terpaksa membayar hampir enam kali ganda, atau 600 peratus lebih mahal!
Cukai yang keterlaluan yang dikenakan oleh kerajaan untuk memberi perlindungan kepada 'kereta nasional' seperti Proton dan Perodua, bukanlah bukan cerita baru. Betapa murahnya harga sebuah kereta import dan jika kerajaan bertimbang rasa, kereta buatan Korea Selatan model 1.0 liter atau 1.3 liter itu mungkin boleh dijual pada harga RM20,000 hingga RM25,000 sahaja.
Kereta jenama tempatan yang sesuai untuk kegunaan keluarga yang paling murah, dijual dengan harga RM45,000. Jadi sebuah keluarga yang berpendapatan RM3,000 sebulan, terpaksa membayar kira-kira RM700 sebulan untuk tempoh lima hingga tujuh tahun bagi melangsaikan pinjaman kereta mereka.
Hari ini, kereta adalah keperluan, apatah lagi dengan sistem pengangkutan awam di Lembah Kelang yang amat tidak memuaskan. Apabila Dr Mahathir berkata orang Malaysia sudah pandai membuat kereta sendiri seawal tahun 1984 dahulu, kita bertepuk sorak kerana terlalu berbangga.
Selepas 21 tahun, Dr Mahathir masih bercakap tentang perlindungan ke atas kereta buatan nasional. Rakyat pula semakin merasakan tertipu dengan kenaikan harga kereta walaupun selepas perlaksaan Zon Perdagangan Bebas Asean (AFTA).
Di Thailand dan Singapura, di mana tiada 'kereta nasional' untuk dibangga-banggakan, harga kenderaan jauh lebih murah selepas AFTA. Tetapi tidak di negara kita. Persoalannya, kenapa perlu memberi keistimewaan kepada orang-orang tertentu untuk mendapatkan AP dengan menindas golongan kebanyakan?
Yang paling utama, kenapa kerajaan pimpinan Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi mesti akur dengan kata-kata Menteri Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri, Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz bahawa pemerintah tidak perlu mengumumkan nama pemegang AP?
O Ayah Pin!
Your cardinal sin
has caused a din
that may begin
to open the bin
that we have themed
apostasy.
Will you be be akin
to the neo-nazi,
that wicked specie?
Regardless of any
who decry thee
i hope our grundnorm
will be in good form
to rescue your hunted skin.
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