Eight of the 16 Proton Perdanas for Terengganu's executive councillors have been seized by the Anti-Corruption Agency.
This has left them with no choice but to use the Mercedes E200 Kompressors for their official duties.
This was the explanation given by Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said over the continued use of the Mercedes by exco members despite the Prime Minister's instruction for them to stop.
Last Friday, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the Terengganu Government could keep the 14 Mercedes but they could only be used for guests of the state.
Ahmad said the exco members would continue to use the Mercedes pending completion of ACA's investigations into the high maintenance cost of the state's fleet of Proton Perdana V6 Executives.
'The ACA has taken the Proton Perdana cars and it would take some time so we are going to use the Mercedes,' he told a press conference after dinner with Umno leaders here on Saturday night.
He added that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had given the state the permission to use the Mercedes 'once in a while'.
'This is only temporary, we will decide later,' he added.
