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| Tuesday, 6 January 2004 |
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What loomed large in year 2003 Anton Gunasekera Yesterday's gone forever - Tomorrow might never be Mine. So Plan for Today - the Sensible Way; One Thing at a Time." Despite the sanity in this slightly adjusted, timely melodious lyric, we cannot but reminisce one Questionable Thing and one Commendable Thing which highlighted the better part of 'Gone Forever 2003'. * The Questionable?: Finance Minister Choksy's Year 2004 Budget Proposal to extend permission for the import of motor cars from three years to three and half years from the date of manufacture from foreign 'throw-away junkyards' as a strategy to net in a revenue of a near Rs. 350 m. Readers will recall our comments on the Hong Kong Government's far-sighted, 'cushion chair' annual revenue-earning budgetary strategy of auctioning Personalized Licensed Number Plates among the affluent who are perpetually in search of any 'Status Symbol' whatever the cost, with the arrogant ambition of proving to the world and his wife/wives that, "I am the Monarch of all I survey; my right there is None to deny." Apart from that reader response, we have had a sizeable feedback from our 'Daily News' home and global Internet-surfing readers in whose countries the car number plate is akin to the nom de plume. Their responses have been studded with many interesting facts and some stunning figures - all of which go to prove that the rich and the mighty will forever have their way, no matter what. Due to space restriction, we are compelled to confine ourselves to the most illuminating reader response from none other than our long time print medium colleague, Lake House' Senior London Correspondent Reggie Fernando. He has contributed to its English publications since 1951 and subsequently while living in London since the mid-sixties. Reggie contends that the government coffers will burst at its seams, if only our Registrar of Motor Vehicles (RMV) is authorized to follow the pattern adopted by our former British colonial rulers, the present Chancellor of the Exchequer, who has authorized the selling of what has been termed as 'Cherished and Personalized Number Plates' to the ever-ready status-conscious European and British millionaires. Reggie, a former champion motor sportsman who was the founder editor of the first-ever motor magazine 'Ceylon Motor' in then Ceylon, certainly knows his onions in regard to the vain ways of exclusive number plate hunters. He has always had personalized number plates on the many cars he had bought in London, adding that he paid a staggering sum of money by way of Government revenue to buy this particular plate for his milk white Mercedes Benz which reads 'HIREJ' alias Hello Reggie! (See picture) There are thousands of others who have paid vast amounts to secure the number plate they love to display. Of course, the number plate which would have suited him most, is REGI, (Reggie) which is on the market today at Pounds Sterling (PS) 77,950, equivalent to nearly S/L Rs. 10 million. Number plates with names or initials of individuals fetch up to PS 250,000-S/L Rs. 30 to 35 million. Below are some of those limousines which brought in ready revenue to the British Government coffers. The first celebrity's "Cherished Licensed Number Plate" (CLNP) over fifteen decades ago, was T 8, owned by the famous musician Harry Tate. The present owner, Tate & Lyle Sugar Company's multimillionaire Johnny Tate had bought it for PS 10,000. MS 1 is the most expensive CLNP in today's market, priced at PS 250,000 S/L Rs. ?) Queen Elizabeth owns CLNP Al and daughter Princess Anne has 1 Ann, while former British Liberal Party leader David Steele owns DS-500. But the amusing yet amazing among the hundreds of thousands of luxury cars of yesteryear, as listed in 'London's Exchange & Mart' (May 2003) Directory had been two 'Cherished Licensed Number Plates' - 775 CBK and 2754 RW - of a century ago! |
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