KUALA LUMPUR: Following the approval of the Cabinet, the Finance Ministry will soon decide on the official vehicles for the ministers and senior government officers. The government is looking forward to signing a deal with a supplier who will deliver vehicles for the ministers and senior government officials' usage, confirmed Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

A 25-year government authorisation with Spanco Sdn Bhd (Spanco) came to an end recently, and the government is now in search of a new supplier. The deal is supposed to involve 32 Toyota Vellfires for ministers and 3,000 Honda Accords for the senior government officials. Until now, Proton Perdana and Toyota Camry were being used by the ministers and senior government officials.

"The task of appointing a company is still the responsibility of the Finance Ministry, which will either see existing vehicles continuing to be used or they will be replaced with new vehicles. I do not know whether this was discussed in the cabinet meeting as I did not attend the last two meetings", said Saifuddin.

Moreover, the government will also take 8,000 units of Proton Persona and Porton Saga apart from the Vellfires and the Accords. The new fleet management contract is reported to incorporate an annual cost of RM 300 million for the next 15 years. It was confirmed last year itself by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng that Spanco's contract won't be extended. Bidders interested in grabbing the new deal include the likes of Spanco, Go Auto, Sime Darby, DRB-Hicom, Naza Group, Berjaya, Samling group, and Comos.

As per the current government policy, the personnel could either receive vehicle allowance or get an official vehicle for his/her usage. "We have previously discussed which measure would save the government more money, whether a vehicle allowance or providing an official vehicle. This will be decided by the Finance Ministry", added Saifuddin.

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