Penang CM: Purchase of 14 Mercedes was not value for money

GEORGE TOWN: The purchase of 14 Mercedes-Benz E200 cars by the Terengganu government in 2008 was “not value for money”, said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

“Unlike us, they did not get a 55% discount for the 14 Mercedes-Benz. We bought it for RM298,263.75 compared to its original price of RM657,218,” he said.

He added that he had criticised the purchase then because the “cars were not value for money”.

Lim’s new official car — a Mercedes-Benz S300L — has continued to draw criticism with netizens widely sharing a news article by a Chinese daily in 2008.

In the article, Lim had criticised the Terengganu government’s decision then to get a fleet of Mercedes-Benz as official cars.

On a report by an online portal that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had started to investigate the purchase of his new official car, Lim said he welcomed the probe.

“I am certain that the MACC will find the Penang state government as clean as a whistle.

“The whole transaction of the Mercedes-Benz was handled by state financial officer Datuk Mokhtar Jait, who followed the proper and legal procedures along with valid documentation,” he told reporters at his office in Komtar here yesterday.

Later, Lim presented RM400,000 in allocations to five independent Chinese secondary schools in Penang.

“The state government has been giving out the allocation yearly since 2009,” he said.

The schools are Han Chiang High School, Chung Ling Private High School, Jit Sin Independent High School, Phor Tay Private High School and Penang Chinese Girls’ Private High School.