YOURSAY | ‘Odds against it making massive changes essential to avoid breakdown.’

Why I resigned as chairperson of Proton

Anonymous 185461449125644: It doesn't really matter whose fault it is that Proton is failing. What matters is whether or not it is worth salvaging. The answer in my humble opinion is yes.

But it needs a massive change in strategic direction that must include painful structural overhaul that will see a lot of job losses and a move away from being a mass market producer to a niche producer.

There's only one way for it to go and the answer is obvious. But will the management have the guts to do it? Only time will tell.

Cogito Ergo Sum: Dear Dr Mahathir Mohamad, your dream of a national car was great and wonderful. But there was a misfiring in its implementation when you made it a bumiputera project and not a 'national' one.

Now, the aggregate of that failure has resulted in Proton being engaged in perpetual reverse gear.

‘Go forward’ also not possible. ‘Stop’ is also economically unviable. To stop the reverse momentum, the brakes on the narrow vision should have been applied long ago. Your departure may not have a single effect on Proton's destiny.

Ruslan Bahari: Quote: "We can forget the development of engineering capability..."

Again, what has been done in the past 30 years? So there was a family of engines, a poor one at that. There is a chassis family, which is fair enough.

But you cannot claim 30 years on, that you did not have the opportunity. Kia and Hyundai started like Proton.

The poor Hyundai Pony and Kia Rio of old is stark testament of where they were. But today, these brands (which were also protected in Korea) are a global force. Engineering is no longer borrowed but developed internally.

Kia is already talking about engines that have service intervals running into six digits. They had partners too, as did Proton.

But perhaps the Volkswagen opportunity is the real missed opportunity. Insiders know why this fell through. And the truth is, it would not have fallen through if Mahathir did not intervene.

Quote: "...and for some unknown reason, sales of Proton cars have plummeted."

Mahathir probably does not understand the importance of brand equity. For Proton, their brand equity among Malaysians have regressed.

This is by and large due to the poor quality of their cars. Granted, this is less true these days, but that's the business world for you. If people lose their trust in your brand, you will lose out. Recovery has proven to be very tough.

Car markets globally have both local and foreign cars. This isn't exclusive to Malaysia. There was enough protection for Proton in the 90s, and that was the period they failed to boost their standing with better technologies and capabilities.

They were happy to rest on the high sales of the Saga (low price and very simplistic market requirements in 80/90s). The price they paid is clear to see now.

Proton's fall is really the result of their success. They didn't build on their advantage of cost, and instead rested on their laurels. They can still recover, but it will be tough.

Anonymous_1388029052: When you started Proton in 1983, you should have engaged Malaysians of all races to work on the national agenda.

In that way not only would you have helped foster racial harmony, we would have the best brains working together to produce a car that we could all be proud of - much like the Koreans.

Wira: With due respect, Mahathir, I cannot agree to your following statement - "Local contents increase the cost of producing the car. This is because the deletion allowance by the foreign company is invariably lower than the cost of the local component."

Everyone knows locally fabricated parts are cheaper than imported ones. It's also the key reason why many manufacturing companies relocate or outsource their production to Malaysia.

That's why I find it strange that this is not the case with Proton. It raises the suspicion of price fixing by Proton’s crony vendors.

Abasir: If memory serves me right, Proton from its inception was positioned and managed as a bumiputera enterprise even though it was touted as a "national car project" perhaps underscoring the point that under Umno, 'bumiputera' is synonymous with 'national'.

And like all other failed state enterprises, the need to push the bumiputera agenda (whatever that is) triumphed over fundamentals like a sound long-term business strategy, management and technical competence, accountability, efficiency and productivity.

One would have thought that after a few years of painful losses, the "ketuanan Melayu" politburo (of which Mustapha Mohamad was and is a ranking member) would have learned their lessons and changed tactics.

But no. Now that it is convenient and politically expedient to do so, he, like the others who are jointly responsible for the bloody mess, are speaking up - without taking any responsibility whatsoever for the shameful failure.

SSG: First, the expatriates left Malaysia (you told them to leave, remember, "the please leave us alone" quote from your sidekick who was the only minister to attend cabinet meetings in a Rolls Royce).

Then the top talent and brains among the Chinese and Indians, in the most productive age of their lives, leave for foreign shores that laid out a red carpet for them.

Then even the top talent from your so-called "bumiputera class" stopped coming back from the countries they were sent to on government scholarships.

Then we get news that the Penang chief minister could not give a guarantee to supply 1,000 engineers to a foreign company to set up their manufacturing plant there.

Now you talk of not being able to develop engineering talent here if Proton is not helped in some way or the other using public funds. Please do get real, Mahathir. We are living in a globalised society now.

Anonymous_660: "Proton reduced the outflow of funds probably amounting to more than RM100 million" - I think this should read more like RM10 billion. Thanks for all these analyses that even an experienced accountant will struggle to come up with in a short time.

That you had this out in a short time shows that Proton and you, not necessarily in that order, have been preparing for this day of reckoning.

Why do we need a national car industry for a population of 20 million? Also, why haven't we built our engineering capacity, especially after 31 years after starting Proton?

The engine and accessories were defective and we were forced to buy a Proton car in installments - can't buy cash. We, the rakyat, had to pay for obsolete technology at inflated premiums, a luxury our economy couldn’t afford to go on overdrive.

I was too ashamed to buy Proton as my first car and settled with a second-hand Honda. I never looked back at Proton and since then it has been Japanese and continental cars only.

Worldly Wise: Mahathir would have been expelled by the powers-that-be. The country is not being governed according to its laws. It is being governed according to the wishes of certain individuals.

This is a formula for all-round down sliding. The entire cabinet, Umno supreme council and divisional leaders and BN component parties are all contributing to this decline. It is unbelievable but it is happening.

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