I have just read Marcus Falco's letter regarding the treatment of Proton's Gen 2 by the Australian press and would like to take issue with a number of points he makes.

For your information, I am the public relations manager for Proton Cars Australia and I am an Australian who admires the resourcefulness and drive of Malaysia.

Firstly, in regards to the story that Falco refers to, it did not appear in the Sydney Morning Herald . It was published in The Age , Melbourne and is really the only scathing review the car has received since its launch here in October 2004. In that way, it could not be considered a typical review.

For a start the car is priced from A$17,990 not A$20,000, and the journalist got plenty of other things wrong as well. When he mentioned that the Waja was priced at the BMW end of the market, then I am yet to see a BMW for sale in Australia for A$26,000.

The Age journalist's review is in stark contrast to many of the other reviews the Proton Gen 2 has received. Such as this by Bruce McMahon of the Courier Mail .

Other strong reviews include by John Wright, of the Trading Post's motoring pages, who called the Gen 2 '... the best handling small car he had ever driven!' or from the highly esteemed Wheels magazine which concluded with this summation: 'After all is said and done, this is a commendable first effort from Proton.

'Proton Cars Australia plans to add a more powerful variant to the range in 2005, one that will be closer to the competition's 100kW-plus engines, and therefore more able to exploit the exciting potential exhibited by the Gen2's Lotus-tuned chassis.

'It's one of the Gen2's biggest strengths, this Lotus-fettled handling, which endows this hatch with cornering speeds and prowess beyond its weight class. Tyre grip is a strength in the dry, and the car sits commendably flat through turns, though the seats lack side bolstering of any substance.

'The steering's a little light for our liking, though it does load up in corners. The car's ride is on par with the competition, smooth and comfortable on average Aussie roads.

'The Gen 2 is not perfect but it is a competent little car, a good package with plenty going for it!'

It is easy for Malaysians to be critical of Proton and the progress it is making but as one of those 'bloody-minded Western journalists' who used to be a motoring writer here in Australia, I reckon Malaysia has a lot to be proud of.

Yes, the Koreans may have better quality at the moment but there isn't a Korean car that comes near to the current crop of Protons (Waja, Gen2, Satria GTi and Perdana) in terms of ride handling and structural integrity.

Just remember that Proton has only been building cars since 1987 and has only been designing its own cars for the past four years. It is the youngest car company in the world and is, by any measurement, the fastest developing car company in the world

Proton may be overprotected but it is developing complex machines in a very competitive global industry. On the way it is developing Malaysia's skills base in manufacturing, engineering, research and development as well as a range of other necessary disciplines.

Only 11 countries in the world possess the necessary wherewithal to design and build motor cars and Malaysia is one of those countries. As I say, you have a lot to be proud of with Proton for it is a strong vibrant company that is eager to develop and grow and to produce cars that are a cut above the Koreans.

So you can either help nurture it and enable it to grow into a company that is better than others or you can shut it down and hand control of your car industry to the Koreans and forget about developing your young engineers and car designers.