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By Mihar Dias August 2026
Sometimes a photograph tells a political story that a thousand speeches cannot.
So here we have Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim arriving at the PKR National Congress in Melaka in a brand-new Zeekr 009, a Chinese luxury electric MPV complete with massage seats and even a refrigerator. And, just in case anyone missed the symbolism, the number plate was VHY 1947 — Anwar's year of birth. He turned 79 on August www.therakyatpost.com
It is a rather sophisticated birthday present to oneself.
The Rakyat Post report is interesting not because the Prime Minister travelled in an electric vehicle. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17WZMCCPvo/
That part is hardly news. Anwar has been promoting the transition to EVs and, more importantly, Malaysia has been actively courting Chinese investment in the electric-vehicle industry.
The interesting part is which EV he chose — and what it says about where Malaysia's automotive future may be heading.
The Zeekr brand belongs to the Geely family. And Geely is hardly an accidental name in Malaysia's EV story. In 2023, Anwar announced a RM39.5 billion commitment from Zhejiang Geely Holding Group to help transform Tanjung Malim into the Automotive High-Tech Valley. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17WZMCCPvo/
So perhaps this is not merely a Prime Minister enjoying a comfortable ride.
Perhaps it is policy demonstration by upholstery.
If the Prime Minister is going to promote EVs, why not demonstrate that even the Prime Minister is willing to sit in one?
And if that EV happens to come from a Chinese company with major investment ambitions in Malaysia, the symbolism becomes even more interesting.
This is where the cynic in me begins to wonder.
Was Anwar simply travelling in the vehicle available to him?
Was it a demonstration of confidence in a strategic investor?
Was it a subtle endorsement of Chinese automotive technology?
Or was it just a very comfortable car with massage seats and a refrigerator?
In politics, of course, there is rarely such a thing as "just a car".
A Prime Minister's vehicle is a moving billboard. It tells investors something. It tells consumers something. It tells civil servants something. And, unfortunately, it also tells opposition politicians something.
The latter will probably have a field day.
Imagine the political ammunition.
The man who speaks about Malaysian products is riding in a Chinese luxury MPV.
The government talks about developing Malaysia's own automotive capabilities, yet the Prime Minister is photographed in a Chinese marque.
And the opposition can conveniently forget that Malaysia desperately needs foreign investment, technology transfer and participation in the global EV supply chain.
Politics has never allowed facts to get in the way of a good Facebook posting.
But there is a bigger question here.
What does this mean for Proton?
Malaysia spent decades nurturing Proton as the symbol of national automotive ambition. Today, the automobile industry is undergoing a transformation so fundamental that the old definition of a "national car" is beginning to look almost quaint.
The future car may not care whether its badge says Proton, Geely, Zeekr, BYD or something nobody has heard of yet.
What matters is who designs the technology, who owns the intellectual property, where the batteries come from, where the vehicles are assembled, who supplies the components and, ultimately, where the high-value jobs are created.
That is where the RM39.5 billion Geely commitment matters far more than Anwar's choice of chauffeur-driven vehicle.
If Malaysia can use Chinese investment to create an EV ecosystem in Tanjung Malim — with Malaysian engineers, suppliers, technology, research and high-value manufacturing — then the Prime Minister riding in a Zeekr could be interpreted as putting his money where his policy is.
But if Malaysia merely becomes a convenient assembly plant for Chinese cars while the technology, components, profits and intellectual property remain elsewhere, then we will have achieved something rather less impressive.
We will simply have replaced assembling conventional cars with assembling electric ones.
With a Chinese refrigerator in the back.
There is also a fascinating diplomatic dimension.
For decades Malaysia's automotive industry was influenced heavily by Japan and, to a lesser extent, Europe. Today China has emerged as a formidable automotive power, particularly in EVs.
The Chinese manufacturers are no longer knocking politely on the door.
They are entering the living room.
And Malaysia has little choice but to engage.
China is already one of Malaysia's most important economic partners. The EV industry is another arena in which Malaysia can either participate intelligently or watch the market being reshaped around us.
The real test for Anwar's government is therefore not whether the Prime Minister drives a Chinese EV.
It is whether Malaysia gains something substantial from the Chinese EV revolution.
Jobs.
Technology.
Local suppliers.
Research and development.
Engineering capability.
Exports.
And perhaps, eventually, Malaysian-designed electric vehicles that can compete beyond our own shores.
Otherwise, the photograph of Anwar in the Zeekr 009 will become nothing more than another example of Malaysia's favourite economic strategy:
We welcome the investment, admire the technology, enjoy the luxury vehicle — and hope that somehow development happens around us.
Then there is that number plate.
VHY 1947.
One has to admire the attention to detail.
At 79, the Prime Minister apparently does not merely want to arrive in style. He wants the car to remember when he was born.
The vehicle remembers 1947.
The question is whether Malaysian industrial policy will remember 2026.
Because this may be the moment when the automobile industry changes forever.
And if Malaysia gets it right, future historians may look at that photograph and say: There goes the Prime Minister in the car that symbolised Malaysia's entry into the Chinese-led EV era.
If we get it wrong, they may say:
There goes another Prime Minister being driven around in somebody else's success story.
For once, the car may be more important than the passenger.
And perhaps the refrigerator is the least interesting thing in it.
Mihar Dias (mihardias@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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