YOURSAY | ‘And when it comes to pass, a new ‘ketuanan’ will emerge.’
China's Geely to acquire 49.9pct stake in Proton, 51pct in Lotus
Anonymous #44199885: After land, power, rail, and ports, now the Malaysian car industry has been bought over by the Chinese, with Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd acquiring a 49.9 percent stake in national carmaker Proton Holdings Bhd from government-linked company DRB-Hicom Bhd, and a 51 percent stake in British sports car brand Group Lotus Plc, which is a fully-owned subsidiary of Proton Holdings.
Is there anything left in this country that is going to remain in the hands of Malaysians, or is the whole of Malaysia for sale to China?
Critical industries and control of strategic assets and infrastructure should always remain with us. Why should we cede control to China? After all, its priorities and interests are not aligned with ours.
Neither Singapore nor Indonesia have ceded control of such assets and industries to China, nor should we. These deals will give them a greater say, and allow them to exert pressure and control on issues involving our national interests.
BrightBart: So, it would appear that the Chinese have taken out a sizable portion of Proton.
Well, it is patently clear that the ones that have been put in charge of Proton are incapable of managing and running the business - but then, what do you expect from this country's insistence on prioritising race over competency.
It would seem that PM Najib Razak is running the country into the ground (underground, even) and that he has to keep running to the Chinese for help.
At the end of it all, I suppose it does beg the question: “Apa lagi (negara) Cina mahu?”
The answer to that, I suppose, would be “the whole country”. And at the rate our chief fundraiser is running the country, it will not be long that will happen.
Clever Voter: Proton was a failure from day one.
It was one of those ill-conceived ideas which the country would never be good at, which is innovation and creativity. Despite the many advantages, it had a social agenda riddled with cheats and lies.
Fast forward to today, after spending billions, we could no longer call Proton a national asset. This includes land and assembly plants which would be reused to assemble and produce cars of other brands.
Proton is no longer in the hands of politicians with big egos. The new shareholders only have 49.9% ownership on paper, but they carry significant influence.
However, for the new shareholders to succeed, they need to hire the best people for the job (starting from the board members), remove rent-seeking suppliers, and increase automation.
They may even have to get rid of unproductive suppliers who were part of the costly patronage system.
Joe Lee: It had to happen. Proton was bleeding government money. Now Najib has passed the problem to the Chinese.
No doubt the Chinese will have a few management problems but they are not stupid. They will make something out of Lotus, and they will continue to squeeze as much as they can out of the Malaysian government.
The end result is that the Malaysian taxpayer will get screwed again.
The Analyser: My guess is that it is Lotus that the Chinese want to line up alongside their Volvo ownership, to give them class.
There is a reasonable chance they see Proton as a cash cow, for which the people of Malaysia will pay them for doing nothing. So, they will let Proton fade away to the shadow it always was.
Fair Play: The Analyser, what you said make sense.
Proton will give them access to the local market and Lotus will give them access to the branded international market.
But sadly, these ‘ketuanan’ did not realise they had just sold their family heirloom.
Bit by bit, stage by stage, China will become the biggest single foreign investor in Malaysia. And when it comes to pass, a new ‘ketuanan’ will emerge.
Anonymous #40538199: The major shareholder of DRB-Hicom is Etika Strategi Sdn Bhd.
Maybe the “little-known Etika Automobile Sdn Bhd”, which is acquiring a 49% stake in Group Lotus Inc, is related to the major shareholder of DRB-Hicom.
DRB-Hicom has to clarify the background and ultimate ownership of Etika Automobile.
Anonymous 2393771451372105: Ibrahim Ali should make a police report on this sale of yet another national asset to communist China.
Isn't he worried that the Proton staff might adopt the communist ideology and become some of the most dedicated and hardworking people in this country?
Reduce vehicle import duty, Gerakan Youth urges gov’t
Kadir Sulong: What is the problem with Malaysia. Who benefits from the sale of cars? The datuks, dato's, politicians.
Kuala Lumpur is already chock full with cars. We spent about one to two hours just burning fuel and polluting the cities and the country. There is hardly parking place in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya and other towns.
Huge amount is spent on petrol. It is nightmare to travel by car and daily the sale of car is increasing by leaps and bounds.
Only the cabinet can put stop to these monsters on the road. Car sales are pushed to the maximum with attractive offers and low down payment. Car traders are getting richer by the day. Who is going to bell the cat?
650214: I think Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang deserves credit for speaking out on this issue. Import duties should be cancelled. Car prices should go down.
Clever Voter: The car duties represent an important source of revenue to the fast depleting Treasury. Income tax was meant to come down with introduction of GST (goods and services tax), but it didn't.
Tan, it makes more sense to focus on reducing the twin problems of corruption and bribery, starting with your older colleagues in BN.
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