MALAYSIA’S first flying car will be driven by local technology, said Entrepreneur Development Minister Redzuan Md Yusof.

He said a prototype of the car is expected to be unveiled to the public later this year.

“This year is a realistic target because we have the technology. It is all about speed of implementation,” he said after launching the Growth Malaysia initiative in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said the car would be safe and capable of flying in low altitudes at a reasonable speed.

“Investment to build the prototype is slightly more than RM1 million,” he said.

Redzuan said the flying car project was a way for the government to create an environment that stimulates people to think about new technology.

“We are providing the catalyst and ecosystem to stimulate the people into thinking beyond what we can do today,” he said.

He said the project also utilises the country’s capabilities in the aerospace, drone, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and automotive sectors.

“Malaysia has the skill set to excel in (these) fields and we need to use our skill set because the bottom line is that we want to be a producing nation.” 

He said the flying car project was separate from the third national car project mooted by the prime minister.

On Growth Malaysia, he said the initiative was led by online to offline platform operator Fave to help offline retailers in Malaysia go digital in terms of payments, marketing, data and financial services.

“This is in line with the ministry’s mission to widen and coordinate entrepreneurial activities to be more targeted.” 

Fave founder Joel Neoh said the initiative aims to help 100,000 restaurants across Malaysia grow digitally by 2020.

“As the world evolves to going digital, offline businesses, especially those in food and beverage and retail, need to catch up and adapt to the growing shift in consumer behaviour or else risk being left behind,” Joel said.

He said Grab Malaysia, Maybank, Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation, Funding Societies and Productivity Nexus for Retail and Food and Beverages were collaborating with the initiative. – Bernama, February 26, 2019.