Proton has always been close to former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad's heart. It was his brainchild.

Now with DRB-Hicom having sold a substantial stake to China's Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd, the former premier mourned the national carmaker's fate.

Mahathir also wondered if this marked the beginning of the “great sell-out”.

“I am a sissy. I cry even if Malaysians are dry-eyed. My child is lost. And soon my country. Please excuse me.

“As I slip into my final years, month or days, I will watch as our beloved country is sold to foreigners to settle the trillion ringgit that we owe. We will have to sell more and more...

“What are our assets? Our land of course! That was what we did in the past.. We lost the land we sold. That is what we are doing now. And that will be what we will have to do - or forfeit our country like we forfeited Proton.

“It is probably the beginning of the great sell-out. The process is inexorable. No other way can we earn the billions to pay our debts. The only way is to sell our assets. And eventually we will lose our country, a great country no doubt, but owned by others,” he said in a blog posting this afternoon.

According to Mahathir, Proton could no longer be considered the national car, or icon.

“(There is) no national car now. Malaysians are glad to be rid of this pesky car. I am sure Proton will do well. It will be a commercial success. It will be sold all over the world. The Proton name will be everywhere.

“It will be like Singapore. Malaysians are proud of this great city-state. If it had not been sold it would be, perhaps, as well developed as Kuala Kedah or Kuala Perlis. Then we cannot be proud of Singapore,” he added.

Mahathir claimed while some Malaysians would feel proud if Proton is able to compete with marques like Rolls Royce and Bentley in the future, he however would not feel the same.

“I cannot be proud of the success of something that does not belong to me or my country. Maybe other Malaysians can, but not me.

“Come to think of it, if our country is sold to others, to the rich people in other countries, I am sure our country will become well developed too. It can even be a fully developed country - exceeding the expectations of Vision 2020. It will be a great country with super highways, high-speed rails, gleaming skyscrapers, shining new towns, beautifully landscaped and lit.

“But I can’t be proud...” he said.

'Proton is now a foreign firm'

During a ceramah in Kuala Lumpur last night, Mahathir lamented that Proton is now a foreign firm and Malaysia has lost an icon.

He said despite Proton's shortcomings, no other developing nation has been able to produce their own cars.

"In 30 years, those who only knew how to drive learned to build their own cars. They learned in a short time. Other countries take 50 to 100 years to come out with their own cars.

"Yes there were weaknesses, but we have overcome them and we don't need to go to China to obtain their technology to build cars like Proton.

"Now we can come out with three models in a year. But sadly, the national carmaker is no longer the national carmaker. When we buy Proton cars in the future, we are buying foreign cars because the national carmaker has been sold," he added.

Mahathir told reporters later that the purchase was proof the government was "bankrupt" as it was not able to assist Proton.

Proton, which was founded by Mahathir in 1983, received RM1.5 billion in government aid last year on condition that it pursues a turnaround plan and seeks a foreign partner.

Besides acquiring 49.9 percent stake in Proton, Geely would also acquire 51 percent in British sports car brand Group Lotus Plc, which is a fully-owned subsidiary of Proton Holdings. The balance would be acquired by little-known Etika Automobile Sdn Bhd.