Dr Mahathir says ‘flying car’ is a ‘big human-carrying drone’

Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad says Malaysians should not call the big drone capable of carrying people around a ‘flying car’.

The Prime Minister’s sudden attempt to be politically correct in calling the drone, a drone, nullifies his Minister of Entrepreneur’s statement the country is getting a ‘flying car’ soon.

Nevertheless, Dr Mahathir says Malaysia should not have called its latest drone project a flying car.

A Pakatan Harapan lawmaker, Fadzli Ramly, called the project “useless” during a PH component party convention on Saturday.

The government party member says the project is a joke at the grassroots level and PH members are having a hard time defending the so-called flying car.

He also called it one of the useless programmes carried out by the government.

TISG reported that Malaysia’s first-ever flying car will take off this year at ‘low altitude’ and that some Malaysians are already calling it a ‘joke’.

However, Dr Mahathir is now salvaging his Entrepreneur Minister Ridzuan Yusof’s gaffe by saying the name ‘flying car’ has resulted in a misunderstanding in Malaysia.

“The mistake was in calling it a flying car,” he says, adding, “It is actually a big drone, which is capable of carrying people around without having to use the roads, as it can fly.”

He also says it is “okay” if Malaysians rejected the super-drone.

“This is just an idea. If they like it, they can accept it, but if they don’t, nobody will force them to.”

UN special envoy Professor Phillip Alston who said a flying car venture would be a waste of resources and time for Malaysia.

He said this will be a disaster and Malaysia should instead prepare for the effects of climate change which is already being felt.

The UN special rapporteur said a flying car would not be practical in Malaysia where there are frequent storms, adding that it will also consume too much fossil fuel.

On the other hand, Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the government is studying the possibility of using drones along Sabah’s waters and border areas to address security issues.

He said this will help combat frequent occurrences of abductions and cross-border crimes.

“In the waters of Sabah (for example), the border with the neighbouring countries (the Philippines and Indonesia) is too long, stretching over 1,000km.

“We can use drones in the border areas, this is what we are thinking about,” he says.

He was speaking at a gathering with Malaysian diaspora at the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta last night. -/TISG