Proton should give up national car status
The government has been urged to give up the 'national car' status for Proton in order to stop further bleeding of national resources and making others suffer as a result.
The government has been urged to give up the 'national car' status for Proton in order to stop further bleeding of national resources and making others suffer as a result.
DAP leader Ronnie Liu said today that the national car concept does not work for Malaysia from the beginning and thus Proton should allow a stronger carmaker like Volkswagen to take up a controlling stake.
"Proton should take a bolder approach to ensure its long-term survival. No car maker bigger or stronger than Proton would want to be led by a smaller one like Proton," he said.
He said the nation should not be made to suffer much longer due to the 'huge ego of an individual leader'. Proton is a brainchild of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Liu was puzzled as to why Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi Motors has been chosen to re-partner Proton as it is not doing well in many parts of the world.
"Proton should be looking at carmakers with greater credentials in order to compete in the world auto trade. The re-partnership with Mitsubishi would not able to boost up the image and credential of Proton significantly," he said.
He said it was unclear why Proton is now taking an old road created and dumped by Mahathir.
"Maybe Mahathir could enlighten Malaysians why Proton began its partnership with Mitsubishi in the first place," Liu added.
New tie-up
It was reported that Proton will form a new tie-up with Mitsubishi in developing new car models. The tie-up will include technology transfer, mutual supply of auto parts, including engines, and allow Proton to create new models.
Mitsubishi Motors president Osamu Masuko is expected to visit Malaysia today to sign a statement of mutual agreement with Proton.
Mitsubishi is the only loss-making major carmaker in Japan. In March 2004, it sold its seven percent stake in Proton as part of its efforts to come out of the red.
Last week, Proton announced that it will collaborate with Volkswagen on a range of technical and training projects. In the new deal, Volkswagen has given up plans for any shareholding in Proton.
