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Can Malaysians rely on Umno, a party that supports corruption and thieving, to govern for a progressive future? - Facebook image
For Malaysia’s future, Umno must be politically buried in GE16!
KUALA LUMPUR, April 21, 2026: The Coverage posted an article titled Johari Ghani: UMNO’s Most Disappointing Minister – Destroying Malaysia’s EV Future with Dinosaur Protectionism.
It is not surprising at all as the raqcial and religious bigoted Umno has proven itself to be a political dinosaur, on its way to extinction, come the next general election (GE16).
Left with only 26 MPs in the 222-seat Parliament after GE15, multi-racial Malaysians must protect their and Malaysia’s future to wipe out Umno from Parliament and governance in GE16.
Read what the article is about and why DumbNo must be rendered politically irrelevant after GE16:
Johari Ghani: UMNO’s Most Disappointing Minister – Destroying Malaysia’s EV Future with Dinosaur Protectionism
20 April, 2026
In the 2026 cabinet lineup, Datuk Seri Johari Ghani stands out as one of UMNO’s biggest embarrassments as Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) Minister. Instead of dragging Malaysia into the 21st century, he’s busy rebuilding ancient protectionist walls that are strangling our EV industry, scaring away real investment, and torpedoing the energy transition. In the middle of a global oil crisis and price spikes, this tongkat mentality isn’t just outdated — it’s national economic self-harm.
While the government cries about the RM7 billion fuel subsidy bill every month, Johari’s ministry is deliberately making affordable EVs more expensive and harder to get. On one hand, you wail about the subsidy burden. On the other, you slap on floor prices, export quotas, and localisation rules that jack up costs and choke supply. Are you crazy, or just completely mad?
Then the joker Ahmad Maslan (or whoever) tells us to “switch to EV”. Easy to say when your policies make sure the average Malaysian can’t afford one. Tell your colleague Johari to remove the protectionist roadblocks first, la. Stop the hypocrisy.
And to all the fanatic supporters who immediately scream “But we must protect the 700,000 jobs and local vendors!” — sit down, because this tired excuse is pure garbage. Those 700,000 jobs you keep parroting? Thailand’s auto industry employs roughly 500,000 but produces twice as many vehicles, exports massively, and actually pays better wages because they opened the market instead of hiding behind tariffs. Malaysia pioneered car-making in SEA — then your precious protectionism chased every decent foreign brand to Thailand. Mahathir is literally called the “father of Thailand’s car industry” because his policies gifted them our future.
Every RM you force Malaysians to overpay for Proton/Perodua is money not spent on other sectors that could create better jobs. This is textbook cronyism.
Repeating the exact same failed formula in the EV era isn’t “protecting jobs” — it’s sacrificing the next generation of high-skill battery, software, and electronics jobs so a few old vendors don’t have to adapt. BYD’s stalled RM1.3 billion Tanjung Malim plant would have created modern, future-proof employment. Instead, your 80:20 rule (only 20% allowed for local sale) and minimum price floors ensure Malaysians get screwed while the country loses billions. This isn’t patriotism. It’s crony welfare dressed as policy.
Protecting those jobs isn’t patriotism — it’s crony capitalism. It keeps a handful of legacy vendors fat and happy while every Malaysian pays through the nose for overpriced cars and endless fuel subsidies. Real job creation? It comes from competition. BYD’s stalled plant would have delivered thousands of high-skilled, high-paying jobs in batteries, electronics, software, and assembly — exactly the future jobs your 700k myth is murdering. Vendors who can’t adapt to EVs don’t deserve to be protected forever; they deserve to evolve or die like every other industry on Earth. This “save our vendors” chant is just code for “protect our old cronies’ profits.” It’s not saving jobs — it’s sacrificing Malaysia’s entire future so a few outdated players don’t have to compete. Otak kosong at its finest.
Malaysia was once the pioneer of car manufacturing in Southeast Asia. Thailand came later and crushed us — for the exact same blinkered protectionism you’re repeating today. Penny wise, pound foolish. Or more accurately: economic suicide dressed up as national pride.
Supporting local industry is fine in principle, but not when it means shielding legacy automakers run by old cronies peddling overpriced, inferior products. Proton and Perodua need real competition to improve — not artificial barriers that keep cheaper, better EVs out. Your restrictive policies (minimum OTR prices, 80% export mandates, localisation demands) are turning Malaysia into an EV avoidance zone instead of a hub.
Johari himself openly admits the goal is to “protect our automotive industry” and prevent Malaysia from becoming an “EV supermarket”. Translation: we’d rather keep Proton and Perodua’s overpriced, outdated ecosystem alive than let competitive Chinese (or any) EVs flood the market and force real improvement. This is the same failed logic that nearly killed Proton until Geely rescued it. Now you’re repeating history while begging investors worldwide — only to flip-flop the moment BYD shows serious interest with a big plant. What kind of clown logic is this? “Come invest… but on terms so restrictive you’ll probably walk away.
Is the ministry literally forcing rakyat to pay more for BYD cars even when market prices could be lower? Are we back to the bad old Proton days — protected status, slumped sales, lost confidence, near-collapse, only saved by Geely? You beg investors to come, then flip-flop the rules the moment they show up. What kind of twisted logic is this? Malaysians are losing billions in investment, jobs, and tech transfer. No wonder Elon Musk won’t touch us with a ten-foot pole.
Supporting local industry sounds noble until it becomes permanent life support for weak players. Real industrial policy builds competitiveness through competition, not by erecting walls that punish consumers and investors. Your new minimum sale prices (doubling imported EV floors toward RM200k in some cases) and export quotas don’t develop the ecosystem — they strangle demand and delay the very transition you claim to want.
Remove the RM100,000+ roadblocks. Liberalise the EV market properly. Let competition drive prices down and adoption up.
Fossil fuels are a leaky bucket — we waste nearly 70% of the energy as useless heat. An EV travels the same distance using roughly one-quarter the raw energy input. In Malaysia’s context, widespread electrification could cut our transport energy demand by nearly 50%, slashing import bills, subsidy leaks, and exposure to global oil shocks. Blocking this shift to protect inefficient legacy jobs isn’t “strategic” — it’s national self-harm that keeps every rakyat poorer and the country less energy-secure.
Johari Ghani’s approach isn’t building an EV ecosystem — it’s strangling it in the crib to protect vested interests. This isn’t industrial policy; it’s industrial paralysis. The “700,000 jobs” excuse is the last refuge of those who want Malaysia to stay mediocre forever.
They’re presiding over industrial suicide to shield vested interests and old political debts. This tongkat mentality in 2026 isn’t just disappointing — it’s disgraceful, shortsighted, and damaging to every Malaysian who wants affordable mobility and a fighting chance in the global economy.
Liberalise the market properly. Or own the consequences: continued subsidy black holes, lost investments, brain drain of talent to countries that actually embrace the future, and Malaysia watching Thailand and Vietnam lap us yet again.
The rakyat aren’t stupid. They see the hypocrisy. Time to ditch the protectionist cancer before it kills whatever is left of Malaysia’s industrial ambition.
