Troubled Malaysian carmaker Proton must choose the right partner carefully in order to produce better quality cars, adviser and former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad said.

Mahathir, an adviser to the automaker which he helped found in the 1980s, said: "They can work with a foreign partner but it is important that they find someone who really has the expertise in car making.

"We need to find the partner who knows how to make a car, one of quality. That is important," Mahathir said in a Bernama report.

"If it is just a manufacturer of components, we should then just buy their components alone. Many of them want to sell their components but have not actually made a car," he said.

Asked about the sale of shares, Mahathir said Proton could sell stock but it would have to safeguard its interest as a national company.

"We can sell the shares ... but the controlling share should be in the hands of Malaysians," he added.

Bolder approach

Proton this week said that it was in talks with several partners for a "strategic core alliance" and a deal, expected to be announced soon, could involve "equity partnership."

Proton has said that it was in talks with several potential mainland Chinese partners after the collapse of negotiations in January with Volkswagen after the two disagreed over the size of the stake the German automaker would have.

Critics have warned that the technologically-weak Proton has to take a bolder approach for its long-term survival and allow a stronger carmaker to take a controlling stake in it.

Proton recently revived a technical pact, with no equity participation, with former partner Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi to produce much-needed new models.

The national carmaker is struggling to reverse a steady decline in market share, which fell to 41 percent in 2005 from 60 percent in 2002, as foreign competitors embark on aggressive campaigns to woo Malaysian drivers.

In a bid to fight off perceptions that it churns out shoddy cars, Proton launched a campaign this week to boost quality awareness among its workers and pledged to slash defect rates in its cars.