Just three days after being sworn into office, Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim took to Twitter to announce that he has rejected a proposal by his office to utilise a new “Mercedes 600” as his official vehicle for his duties. Since the all-new Mercedes-Benz S Class no longer comes in a 600 guise, we are presuming that Anwar probably meant the Mercedes-Benz S 580 e plug-in hybrid.
The Premier added that the order for the new car was placed by the Prime Minister’s Department before he took office. The new car was rejected as he does not wish for any new expenditures to be made for him. Instead, he will be utilising any existing vehicle in the office for his duties.
So what might it be, if not a Mercedes? A follow-up tweet from The Malaysian Insight reporter Ravin Palanisamy revealed that the Prime Minister will be ferried in a Toyota Camry instead.
When met by reporters at the PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya yesterday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim even jokingly asked if the Camry “is OK”. He added that the office was able to cancel the order made by the previous government, in time before delivery.
The Toyota Camry is certainly a modest choice for a Prime Minister, and we’re sure the choice to cancel the S-Class was as much of a PR move as a cost-saving move. But with that being said, it’s still a fairly capable car, with enough luxuries to make even Lexus blush.
Updated in Malaysia earlier this year, the new facelifted Toyota Camry is now powered by a 2.5-litre Dynamic Force engine, serving up 209 hp and 253 Nm of torque and paired to an eight-speed automatic gearbox. But the most important feature, for a Prime Minister sitting in the back seats anyway, is the addition of the reclinable rear seats, with a touch-activated control panel located in the centre arm rest.
Prior to taking office, Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim was also seen chauffeured in a black G12 BMW 7 Series.
