Can PM revive Malaysia’s national car?

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahatir Mohamad. (AP)

• The public feel Proton is to blame for the excessive taxation that priced many Malaysians out of owning foreign-branded cars
• Difficulties at the troubled national company have led to the production of low-quality products compared with superior-quality imported cars

KUALA LUMPUR: In 1985, Malaysia’s then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad proudly drove a Proton across the Penang Bridge causeway to launch the car.
It was a powerful symbol of a country quickly transforming itself into an industrialized nation.
The Proton was Mahathir’s brainchild, at a time when many third-world countries were struggling economically and politically.
Subsequent years saw many middle-class Malaysian households owning a Proton as a status symbol.
Fast forward to 2018, and the Proton is no longer a national symbol of pride for many Malaysians.
Mahathir’s successor, former Prime Minister Najib Razak, sold almost half of Proton’s stakes to China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. in 2017, in an attempt to turn the car into a commercial success. The move was considered a sell-out by many Malaysians, including Mahathir. Despite that, he reluctantly acknowledged that “the Proton name will be everywhere” under Geely’s helm.
However, with his installment as the seventh Prime Minister, the now 93-year-old Mahathir is seeking to revive his pet project — making Proton great again.
During his visit to Japan in June, a country that inspired his “Look East Policy,” Mahathir expressed his enthusiasm about developing a new national car company. “Our ambition is to start another national car, perhaps with some help from Southeast Asia,” Mahathir said.
Instead, the idea to revive the Proton brand was met with a lukewarm response by Malaysians.
But in typical Mahathir fashion, he railed against Malaysians who had given up on the national automobile. He questioned the belief that “we are not qualified nor capable of having an automotive industry.”
“We tried the national car project before, and failed miserably,” said Dr. Oh Ei Sun, senior adviser at the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute. The Proton had instead become an avenue for opportunistic rent-seekers to enrich themselves at the expense of average car buyers by saddling a relatively lower-quality product with higher prices. “Proton is unpopular among Malaysians due to corruption,” said Vigneswaran Karthigesu, founder and former president of Land Rover Owners Club of Malaysia.
Difficulties at the troubled national company have led to the production of low-quality products compared with superior-quality imported cars. Proton was overshadowed by its much more popular cousin, Perodua, which year after year has been the market leader for compact cars in Malaysia.
Protectionist policy in the automobile industry did not help either, causing discontentment among many Malaysians. “The public feel Proton is to blame for the excessive taxation that priced many Malaysians out of owning foreign-branded cars,” said Kon Wai Luen, car enthusiast and editor of start-up publishing house Aurizn Malaysia.