[Malaysia] Gloria-Rafidah Twinning Programme?

Tears and jeers leave Rafidah's fate in cabinet uncertain
Jul 25, 05 AFP

Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz's future is in question after a week where a row over a controversial car import scheme reduce her to tears and saw her heckled and jeered by her own party.

The issue was a hot topic at the ruling party's annual congress as leaders attacked her handling of the auto sector and said the permit system for car imports was responsible for declining sales of the Proton national car.

The row flared when Rafidah, one of the longest-serving members of the cabinet with 25 years experience, attacked Proton models as "shoddy" and urged it to become more competitive in order to face a newly deregulated environment.

Former premier Mahathir Mohamad, who launched the national car scheme in the 1980s, responded angrily and said the system of approved permits (APs) was to blame for the automaker's woes by flooding the market with undervalued imports.

As the war of words escalated, Rafidah, a one-time close ally of Mahathir, sobbed publicly for several minutes when asked if she would apologise to the veteran leader over their war of words.

It was a stunning turn of events for Rafidah, once known as "Malaysia's Iron Lady" for her tough approach to her job.

Holy Koran

Amid accusations of cronyism in the awarding of the permits, she touched the holy Koran to swear that she had nothing to hide, and was repeatedly forced to deny rumours of her resignation.

And the affair reached a peak on Saturday when her speech to the Umno annual congress was interrupted by boos and jeers from party leaders.

"I have been victimised since the AP debacle. I have been slandered," the trade minister declared as she attempted to explain the distribution of APs to some 2,500 delegates.

APs are given to ethnic Malays under a decades-old affirmative-action policy designed to redistribute wealth and help ethnic Malays who were lagging behind the minority Chinese.

The list of recipients, long kept secret, was released by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's office last Monday, fuelling rumours of corporate cronyism and allegations that the system was only enriching a privileged few.

The list highlighted four men, including two former senior officials at Rafidah's trade ministry, who together received more than 28,000 of the 67,158 permits issued this year alone.

Akin to Gloria

Ismail Hashim, Umno delegate from northern Perlis, said he was shocked to learn that so few individuals were being awarded so many APs and drew parallels with Phillippine President Gloria Arroyo who is under pressure to quit over charges of corruption.

"I don't want to mention one word but just look at what is happening to President Arroyo in the Philippines," he said to loud applause from other delegates.

"Now there is speculation about (the future of) Rafidah," an Umno member attending the general assembly told AFP on condition of anonymity. "She is being rude to Mahathir, she is being egoistical," he said.

"She should listen to the dissenting voices. People just want fair distribution of the APs and transparency," he said.

"Swearing on the Koran like that is ridiculous. It's shameful. You don't need the Koran to bear witness, it's too much. People are laughing at her."

The top echelons of government have been noticeably silent as the debate raged, and Abdullah was lukewarm on Saturday when invited to defend his minister.

Asked whether he thought Umno party members were satisfied her explanation of the import scheme he replied: "I don't know. I wouldn't want to make any assumptions.