Proton new head – Syed Zainal Abidin Tahir
Proton has named the successor to Tengku Mahaleel. With the title of Managing Director, Syed Zainal Abidin Tahir, 43 years old this year, will take over the helm of Proton and steer it into the AFTA era. Syed Zainal is currently executive director of Perodua’s manufacturing arm.
Other management changes would be Datuk Kisai Rahmat being appointed executive director of Proton’s engineering and manufacturing division. Two other key management positions – head of sales and marketing, and head of strategy and corporate services have yet to be filled.
Proton also posted a Q2 2006 loss of RM 154.3 million, much lower than the 700 million previously speculated but still pretty bad. Proton ‘rescued’ MV Agusta a year ago by pumping 310 million ringgit into the struggling firm. Proton is now writing off the value of it’s 57.5 percent stake in MV Agusta. Other reasons for this loss include rising component prices, and reductions in margins. Provisions were also made for 3,000 engines in its inventory whose warranty had lapsed, and RM 36 million for a mismatch of warranties between international customers and domestic component suppliers.
On why Proton bought MV Agusta, Datuk Azlan explained at the time of purchase in December 2004, Proton saw MV Agusta as an opportunity to gain access to a global brand and engineering and design expertise. So far the investment had not met expectations. According to Azlan, Lotus is still loss-making, but it’s businesses in Australia, Singapore and the UK were either showing signs of improvement or performing reasonably well.
As for other Proton updates, things are looking pretty bleak for the Proton-VW partnership. Proton chairman Datuk Azlan raised the prospect yesterday that there might be no go for the deal after all, but they are still waiting for VW’s response on their latest proposal.
November 30, 2005 @ 10:35 am
mamat nie boleh tahan ke dgn proton “current financial”……
November 30, 2005 @ 10:40 am
All the best to Managing Director, Syed Zainal Abidin Tahir. Hopefull he will lead us to a newer, better Proton.
November 30, 2005 @ 10:53 am
just sell the mv agusta(problem CO.) and look for another JV……..
November 30, 2005 @ 11:07 am
aiks, looks like volks and proton partnership might not come true, and that spells disaster to all mysian!!!!!
death for proton or death to our money!!!
November 30, 2005 @ 11:15 am
Congratulations and good luck to Tuan Syed and PROTON.
At least there’s certainty in terms of leadership; that’s crucial for the immediate future of the company. (Maybe manager-lesss EPL team Sunderland should realise this too… but I digress.)
Most of the bloggers here support a well-managed PROTON, one which will offer newer and better quality cars at good prices. Of course there’s the odd few that just choose to slap every move they make.
I too support a new PROTON, despite my earlier entries declaring that I will not buy any PROTON until they get at least a 3-star rating by an acclaimed reviewer/publication.
I still stand by that, only because I do not want to be cheated as a consumer But on the patriotic side, I wish PROTON all the best, as their success will be Malaysia’s success (I’ve this funny feeling when they do win awards, those very people who beat the hell out of PROTON will proudly claim to be Malaysians!).
So once again, congratulations to PROTON, and all the best to the new team.
November 30, 2005 @ 11:19 am
good luck to proton and it’s new leadership
November 30, 2005 @ 11:24 am
Really hope this a the right person to Lead POTONG and steer to CORRECT direction. I do hope he can show his capability within 2 years TIME. Times wait for NO MAN! DUA TAHUN SAJA OKAY!!
POTONG mesti Tekan minyak Kuat sikit, come out some GOOD products and show the world KITA BOLEH!! POTONG BOLEH!! Develope SUV and MPV and Target selling price RM60K below, Rakyat mesti beli punya!
YAU MOU GAU….CHOR!! As expected….the deal of POTONG-VW, Go homelah German….we don’t want you to buy POTONG!! 40% is too much F**Ker!!
November 30, 2005 @ 11:36 am
I was just about to dream driving a rebadged Passat ..
SIGH…….
It’s a no go!!! damn…
November 30, 2005 @ 11:46 am
muthu said,
November 30, 2005 @ 10:35 am
mamat nie boleh tahan ke dgn proton “current financialâ€â€¦â€¦
> agree wit u.. another example of MAS story.. nothing new.
November 30, 2005 @ 12:15 pm
wat laoe eh… VW go back German liao? kanasai, what POTONG thinking?
emm… other than VW, ( if is true), what other foreign company can deal with POTONG? hope Syed Zainal Abidin Tahir will lead POTONG to solve this main issue…
cheers…
November 30, 2005 @ 12:23 pm
im not so sure if its true paul that he said the vw deal mite not go on…he only said thy gave thm few points to consider n above all,must have a malaysian as a ceo or directors…last quarter proton sold more cars than in their entire 20yrs history , nt sure y thats nt mentioned oso!
November 30, 2005 @ 12:29 pm
HEARD INSIDE:
VW deal will happen with PROTON, but not for another 18 months. Yes, they are reviewing PROTON’s counter-proposal.
The really strange side? Some rumours abound that PROTON former chief Mahaleel is now joining VW regionally, and may end up with….
No prizes for guessing right… PROTON (when they actually buy equity, representing VW on the BOD!)
Wa la wei….
November 30, 2005 @ 12:50 pm
Well I can only say good luck Proton. Work fast. P2 is already planning a kancil replacement model. And one more thing, ask VW to go home to Germany!
November 30, 2005 @ 1:18 pm
heheh, good luck lah buddy… hope u can turn Proton around… *HOPE*
November 30, 2005 @ 1:26 pm
5 langkah pulih Proton — Selepas kerugian RM158.8 juta pada suku tahun kedua
SHAH ALAM 29 Nov. – Proton Holdings Bhd. yang kerugian RM158.8 juta pada suku tahun kedua berakhir 30 September lalu, hari ini mengumumkan langkah-langkah drastik bagi memperbaiki prestasi kewangannya.
Dalam hubungannya dengan pengeluar kereta Jerman, Volkswagen AG (VW) pula, Proton telah mengemukakan pendirian mahu terus kekal menguasai syarikat kereta nasional dan menanti maklum balas VW mengenainya.
Paling drastik, syarikat kereta nasional itu melancarkan pelan lima perkara untuk memulihkan prestasinya iaitu:
* Peningkatan perolehan
* Kawalan kos lebih baik
* Penambahbaikan kualiti
* Kecekapan operasi lebih tinggi
* Meningkatkan produk dan perkhidmatan
—
Hope for better proton near future.
November 30, 2005 @ 2:31 pm
So, with the man connection with Toyota, should we see Toyota getting involve with Proton soon?
November 30, 2005 @ 2:45 pm
Bei, its getting more interesting now..
November 30, 2005 @ 3:13 pm
all da best for NEW proton!!!
November 30, 2005 @ 3:40 pm
We can only wait and see……Perodua has a good track record….
November 30, 2005 @ 4:02 pm
Hopefully this guy will bring his good track experience,skills & leadership at Perodua to steer the Proton back to the right track as Malaysian are dying waiting for major overall improvement…
Waiting patiently…from “occassionally” a basher to a fulltime supporter
November 30, 2005 @ 4:37 pm
more importantly, b4 this man start work, proton should give him all the power to change the company from top to bottom, so that he can do his job properly,right? coz it is useless if somebody or something is holding the new ceo’s power and call him to ‘do this, do that’, when proton fail again, all blame the new man when the man might be the one to lead the company.
“With all due respect,masters, isn’t the new CEO the chosen one who would defeat the ’sith’……….?” remember this phrase, hehehehehe, i had forgotten how to continue liao!
November 30, 2005 @ 6:11 pm
Not enough power… it’s no longer CEO… only MD…
—-
Pengerusi Proton, Datuk Azlan Hashim dalam sidang akhbar di ibu pejabat Proton di sini berkata, Lembaga Pengarah Proton telah memutuskan supaya struktur organisasi pengurusan perlu berasaskan fungsi, menggambarkan struktur yang sama dengan syarikat automotif utama.
Mengikut struktur baru, jawatan utama pengurusan Proton yang dulunya dipanggil Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif (CEO), kini Pengarah Urusan manakala jawatan lain ialah Ketua Perkilangan dan Kejuruteraan, Ketua Jualan dan Pemasaran serta Ketua Strategi dan Perkhidmatan Korporat.
Azlan turut mengumumkan pelantikan Datuk Kisai Rahmat, yang kini Ketua Pegawai Operasi (COO) bersama Proton sebagai Pengarah Eksekutif Bahagian Kejuruteraan dan Perkilangan.
Seorang lagi COO bersama Proton, Datuk Kamarulzaman Darus dilantik sebagai Pengarah Perkilangan.
“Kami membuat keputusan ini, memandangkan semasa proses temuduga, jelas tiada individu yang memenuhi semua kriteria yang ditetapkan oleh Lembaga Pengarah.
“Penyelesaian praktikal bagi Proton ialah mewujudkan sebuah pasukan individu yang saling menyokong dan akan bersama membawa kemahiran dan kecekapan untuk memimpin ikon nasional seperti Proton,” katanya.
Pada September lalu, Proton melantik perunding carian eksekutif untuk bekerjasama dengan Lembaga Pengarah bagi mencari pengganti kepada CEO Kumpulan, Tan Sri Tengku Mahaleel Tengku Ariff yang tidak disambung kontraknya.
Azlan berkata, pencarian itu bermula dengan senarai pertama antara 30 hingga 40 individu dan selepas penilaian awal, 22 orang telah dihubungi.
“Daripada 22 calon itu, 12 calon terdiri daripada sembilan rakyat tempatan dan tiga asing telah disenarai pendek.
“Seorang calon menarik diri manakala 10 orang lagi tidak bersedia atau tidak sesuai bagi jawatan itu atas pelbagai sebab,” katanya.
Menurut Syed Zainal Abidin, semua pihak boleh merangka aktiviti untuk memantapkan Proton dari sekarang bagi memastikan kejayaan pada masa hadapan.
“Saya percaya kekuatan sedia ada pada Proton boleh dipertingkatkan dan kita harus memiliki hala tuju yang sama merangkumi Proton, kerajaan dan peserta dalam industri,” ujarnya.
November 30, 2005 @ 6:40 pm
proton might have “lost” 158million this quarter, doesn’t mean they’re in financial difficulty.
November 30, 2005 @ 6:46 pm
difficult job for this guy to clean up the mess… fingers crossed i would say… no high expectations though…
November 30, 2005 @ 6:46 pm
Lets hope this guy will be a good leader for proton,
But the way,call government don’t interfere any business on it
November 30, 2005 @ 7:28 pm
eCun… the 5 langkah thing in the press…. i say, cakap saja lebih… whether it will work or not… i doubt it… plus the 5 solutions sounds to be copied direct from management textbooks!!! anybody can quote, but nobody can do anything…
now that they have changed the power structure… isit becoz they wana limit that new guy’s power from changing the things around? plus,
“Kami membuat keputusan ini, memandangkan semasa proses temuduga, jelas tiada individu yang memenuhi semua kriteria yang ditetapkan oleh Lembaga Pengarah”
what kind of criteria? only accept those who are willing to “cari makan” sama-sama and keep their mouth shut if anything happened?
November 30, 2005 @ 8:12 pm
Of course la… they nak pujuk hati Proton owner and PB tm… plus their shares holders… if lucky due to that statement the shares able to go up a lil bit… if they really can change, everybody will happy maa… including the PB… trust me… the pure PB is the Proton owner and ex-Proton owner… once a while they are proud of the national car… until the quality really make them headache and be the regular at CSS or tepi jalan wks… then finally they feel pissed off by P1 and become PB… like revenge of the sith la this one… deep inside still have the pride of the nation… and hope Proton improvement to be real… because 80% only able to buy proton car due to income, loan or whatsoever… they bashing P1 but they still use it everyday… no choice… say whatever… but I will say no choice for the rakyat marhain…
November 30, 2005 @ 9:07 pm
e-cun, re: 5 langkah pulih proton
are they in the order of importance? If so, note that kawalan kos lebih baik comes BEFORE penambahbaik quality. Kawalan kos lebih baik means call out tender for supplier/interior finishes vendors and award to the most competitive. Those who don’t have orang dalam will have to lower price gila babi and then supply plastic tupperware for the dashboard finish. Savvy’s the living (barely) proof. Those with orang dalam will sub to a vendor, who will sub to another vendor and it goes on and on and on until this poor sod has to make the dashboard with very little gain. The result, more tupperware.
Actually i’m insulting tupperware. Their plastics are less plasticcy than savvy dashboard.
November 30, 2005 @ 10:42 pm
going to losse RM 154,300,000.00 !!! what on earth is going on in proton… last time mention going to loose like RM 12 million… ok is 8 figure sum.. in within the same year now going to loose 9 figure!!! how can this be happening?? my god.. 2006 is not a good year for proton. if dunno Q3 and Q4 will raise this figure to 10 or not… wut the point investing all this money oversea… wasted all of it… lotus not making money and MV Agus dunno what ta also sucking money from Proton. it’s getting worse… where are the improvement in proton…? and those idiots telling us not to bash Proton.. im very sick of hearing it as Proton is like a symbol of “Pls Hate Me”, “Pls Bash Me” and yet Proton will still give u a wide smile to it’s own grave sucking Malaysian hard earn money….
November 30, 2005 @ 10:53 pm
I hope this man can improve the Proton condition,at least the quality and proper future plan for Proton.It`s bcos in 2 years,local company can`t produce a new model except of rebadge/minor engineering change.Good luck for Proton!Hope Proton + Perodua + Naza = Honda/Toyota hehehe..
November 30, 2005 @ 11:16 pm
Stop ALL corruption inside PROTON and PROTON will start to make money… its as simple as that…
December 1, 2005 @ 8:45 am
Anyone knows well about This New CEO?
What’s his BIODATA? Marketing or Engineering background?
I think the new POTONG CEO must be a Technical strong person especially in Automotive parts design …..I means the basic understanding of how the car is constructed and manufacturing process. That’s the minimun requirement man.
Therefore, most of the successful Automotive Leader or CEO are Engineer background, I means at least a Mechanical Engineering degree.
I just hope this new CEO can really understand Automotive not only the marketing strategy. POTONG biggest problems is Technical decision, future model selection and direction which need the technical skills to do so, and quality issue has a very closed relationship with Technical decision too. Starting from Design til manufacturing and quality control.
YAU MOU GAU….CHOR!! When is the new CEO effectivity date lei? From 1st of JAN ??? Should be immediately lah no time for vacantion Okay!!
December 1, 2005 @ 11:05 am
just wait N C…….. bungkus bungkus bungkus…… cannot tahan maaa…… i think he will bring his men from P2 to help him……
December 1, 2005 @ 12:11 pm
Hell yeah…!!! if better offer why not…??? Many P1 engineer already lari to P2… last time boss don’t want to accept any proposal… boss always right… dictator… right now with new boss… dah kawan lama kat P2 takkan tak nak masuk P1 for the sake of improving P1… but improving or not… orang makan gaji dapat gaji OK lar… this type of people will make no difference… so, just wait and see…
December 1, 2005 @ 12:26 pm
Attention pls!!
I found some F**KER copy my Nickname and give f**king comment on others.
So if you do found such kind of comment, JUST ignore it. THis He/she must be a PSYcho. What the f**k to use other person name to Said bad words to others. I wish this f**KER will be FOUND soon!!
YAU MOU GAU………CHOR!!
Paul can you find this f**ker for me?
December 1, 2005 @ 1:44 pm
so I’ll be expecting good results in 2008 from Potong…attention people…please think +ve so all our Msian +ve aura will help Proton…Hidup Proton…
See fu…kesianlah…paul!! cannot create webpage with user login for comments…anybody can cause fight between friends…Batu Api…
December 1, 2005 @ 4:48 pm
Let’s look at this appointment realisticly. What can this guy do? The only reason P2 can survive and thrive is because it has majority Japanese share holders through UMW and Daihatsu.
What has P1 got? A whole big can of worms that is what.
Do all of you think that he can do something and turn P1 around. I think not. Wake up and smell the shit. The task of turning P1 around is not getting it out of its debt. It is about making P1 into a world class car manufacturing factory that can give Toyota, Nissan, Honda or even GM a run for its money. Now do you guys still think that this guy can do this?
He does not need luck, he needs a goddamn miracle.
So don’t wish him kuck my friends, we had better pray.
December 1, 2005 @ 5:34 pm
Muthu, later P2 susah pula,
all “experties” migrating to P1
December 2, 2005 @ 8:02 am
———-EC said,
December 1, 2005 @ 5:34 pm
Muthu, later P2 susah pula,
all “experties†migrating to P1————–
……this what we call open market…….
December 2, 2005 @ 9:16 am
————–SEE FU said,
December 1, 2005 @ 8:45 am
Anyone knows well about This New CEO?
What’s his BIODATA? Marketing or Engineering background?
I think the new POTONG CEO must be a Technical strong person especially in Automotive parts design ………………….————–
Name Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohd Tahir
Designation Managing Director
Age 43
Qualifications Bachelor Of Science (Civil Engineering) University of
Maryland…….
December 2, 2005 @ 10:33 am
Muthu arr!!
ThX!
I think CIvil Engineer still MA-man lah! Mechanical Engineer will be the best person…………Where to find one!!
YAU MOU GAU……CHOR!! Good luck to POTONG!! 2 years only okay! I give you 2 more year to go!! Tekan Minyak kuat sikit…..sekarang juga!
December 2, 2005 @ 2:27 pm
kasi quality up, custumer servis baik2, harga murah2… semua org suka. senang saja laaa…
December 3, 2005 @ 11:57 am
To make a best car need best engineers and production employer and not an expensive and best CEO. Engineers with high ethics will make the different.
December 4, 2005 @ 10:54 am
ANAKMALAYSIA said,
December 3, 2005 @ 11:57 am
To make a best car need best engineers and production employer and not an expensive and best CEO. Engineers with high ethics will make the different.
#############
AnakM arr!!
I agree with you on something but not 100%! Why?
A good leader is actually the major cause of a SUCCESS.
Just an example, If the captain steer the ship direction to WRONG way apparently good engine and Good workers cannot help to reach the Right destination.
So, for me Most important is the LEADERSHIP of top management and then following the support from Good staffs ……..in such a condition……SUCCESS will not far from US.
Let’s say, if your boss don’t know anything about AUTOMOTIVE design how can you (as GOOD Engineer) to explain the design direction or make design changes in the best way???? I would say NO Way!! like chinese say Play music to a COW! (Tuit Gao Tann Kam)
YAU MOU GAU….CHOR!! Cheers
December 6, 2005 @ 10:28 am
Just a small hiccup for proton… after they sell Agusta.. it will be ok
December 6, 2005 @ 8:25 pm
See Fu….
Ni hao ma? Hope ya’ feelin better…Regarding on ur statement to Anak Malaysia is really2 crap! Let Tn Syed Zainal Abidin do his job as a CEO of Proton. Nw tell me, hw long have u been in the automotive industry? Did you involved in designing and developed our national car? Hey See Fu. look, U dun knw anythin so u just shut up!!
December 8, 2005 @ 5:28 pm
SEE FU,
Your comment is RIGHT man!
First Leader Then Workers and machines. If The other way? Macam mana boleh berjaya!
5 cents for this comment lah!
December 9, 2005 @ 10:10 am
Paul,
Do you have Syed Zainal’s HP number? I just want to ‘SMS’ him. To congratulate him and also to tell him what we customers expect out of Proton..
December 10, 2005 @ 4:21 pm
Let’s look at this appointment realisticly. What can this guy do? The only reason P2 can survive and thrive is because it has majority Japanese share holders through UMW and Daihatsu.
———————————————-
yeah he is nothing special like most crony he own his survival and position the japs share in p2
December 14, 2005 @ 1:21 pm
P2 thrive even before taken over by Daihatsu/Toyota. In fact the only new model after taken over is the MYVI/Sirion. Why? Oh why perodua has not made any Daihatsu or Toyota Models for export after being taken over???
December 31, 2005 @ 8:39 pm
[...] I’d like to wish all my readers a happy new year. 2005 has been an interesting year for the automotive industry. Pretty exciting. We had new launches from both our largest national car manufacturers, the Perodua Myvi and the Proton Savvy. We had the controversial AP Saga involving Rafidah Aziz, Tun Dr. M and the AP Kings. A new National Automotive Policy. We saw Proton undergo a major management change, and the possibility of a take-over by Volkswagen AG. [...]