In this fast moving world there is no time to stand and stare. While you contemplate your next move, others would have forged ahead by two or three strides. This is very true in auto industries.

Here we are busy trying to salvage our Proton while our northern neighbour is busy attracting automakers from all over the world. They will be soon be the number one automaker in this region, the 'Detroit' of Asean.

But this title should rightfully belong to Malaysia for a number of reasons.

Firstly, we are the biggest purchaser of automobiles and therefore a ready market already exists here. Secondly, our infrastructure is about the best in this region, if not in Asia. Thirdly, our country is politically stable. There is no threat from separatists nor any such upheavals. The people are friendly and peace-loving.

Finally, the workforce in Malaysia is skilled and generally have quite a good command of English. On top of that, they are quite disciplined too.

With all these good points, any investor would not have second thoughts about invest here. So the big question is, why did they flee to our neighbour? The answer is this - because we do not have a consistent policy regarding automobile industries.

For example, till today no one exactly knows the tax structure of foreign cars or even for local cars come year 2005 when the Asian Free Trade Agreement is implemented. If I am not mistaken, Thailand has already unveil its tax structure for cars and other vehicles.

Proton is now urged to find a foreign partner fast . Its advisor Dr Mahathir Mohamad said that we have to careful in choosing one as we should not jeopardise our status of Malaysia as an automaker.

But we have to be realistic about this. Based on the experience of car giants like Mazda Mitsubishi and Holden, I would say that Proton does not stand a chance in this competitive world.

What is there to be proud about as an auto manufacturer when you can't deliver? If Holden, an Australian car maker with a longer history, can now be controlled by General Motors (GM), what is so bad for Proton to be controlled by big foreign car company?

We can still be the number one automaker in this region if we have right policy.