‘It’s OK, just forget Vision 2020’ – Tun Mahathir responds to public’s rejection of new national car idea

‘It’s OK, just forget Vision 2020’ – Tun Mahathir responds to public’s rejection of new national car idea

It appears that the majority of Malaysians did not respond very warmly to prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad idea of a new national car project to replace his beloved Proton. Are you one of them?

If yes, the PM has this to say to you, unbeliever. “Malaysia becomes a consumer country, a paddy farming and fishing country. It’s OK. This is what we want and this is what we’ll get. Just forget about Vision 2020.” It may be a sarcastic remark, but the rest of Mahathir’s blogpost on the matter truly reveals his (deep) feelings for The Car.

“I’m told that no one wants to see a second national car. It’s enough that we have Proton, which is seen as a failure. We’re not qualified and not capable of having an automotive industry. Malaysians rather buy imported cars, including those from China. Their choice is Japanese cars, and German cars for those who have plenty of money,” he started, before explaining the benefits of a country having its own carmakers.

‘It’s OK, just forget Vision 2020’ – Tun Mahathir responds to public’s rejection of new national car idea

The PM says that post-war Japanese cars were known as “Milo tin” cars, but from those beginnings rose the various Toyotas, Nissans and Suzukis we drive today. He also mentioned Hyundai’s Pony, and the rise of Japanese and Korean cars that phased out the cars from Austin, Morris and other European marques. “But of course, this won’t happen with Malaysia. Our cars will be made by ‘Milo tin’ forever,” he remarked, sarcastically.

“We’re not suggesting a second national car by the government. The private sector is already capable of producing designs, clay models, prototypes and mass production. But because we have rejected from the start the idea of a second national car, we have effectively blocked proposals by the private sector to produce a car. Of course, the government will not own an automotive industry.

“We buy imported cars. If we go to car producing nations such as Japan and Korea, you will not see non-local cars. Why? Because they do not allow the import of foreign cars. The result is better car quality and millions of units exported, with much inflow of foreign currency.

‘It’s OK, just forget Vision 2020’ – Tun Mahathir responds to public’s rejection of new national car idea

“Their people get jobs and live comfortably. Their economies grow and they become developed nations. Their engineering industry booms and supports other engineering industries.

“But not in Malaysia. Any car from anywhere, whether of good or ‘Milo tin’ quality, can enter Malaysia. Produced by giant companies, they control the Malaysian car market until Proton is buried. In the end, Proton is sold to foreigners. No more national car, no more automotive industry. Workers, engineers and managers no longer have jobs. Everything goes down,” Mahathir laments, ending with the ‘Oh well’ sentiment we started off with.

While we understand the disappointment of losing a baby, so to speak, there are always two sides of a coin. While the car industry contributed greatly to the industrialisation of Japan, surely it’s not the only thing that propelled the Land of the Rising Sun to the economic powerhouse it is today? Don’t discount their will to succeed, discipline, attention to detail and innovation. Cars like the original Lexus LS and Honda NSX were born out of that.

Proton, established in 1983, enjoyed a long period of market dominance thanks to the government’s protectionist policies, but did the carmaker push itself hard like Hyundai did? While it’s true that there are high barriers for auto imports in Japan and South Korea, carmakers from these countries have long gone past relying solely on their home turf for sales.

Also, while the car industry is a vital one for the likes of Japan and Germany, is it the only, or most important measure of a nation’s economy? While Mahathir’s Vision 2020 was likely conceived with a thriving Proton in mind, do we absolutely need to have a 100% locally owned carmaker to be deemed a success?

If yes, at what cost? Malaysians, are you willing to sacrifice access to foreign brand cars (at reasonable prices) to see a wholly Malaysian carmaker grow? Share your thoughts, but remember to keep it civil.

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Danny Tan

Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.

 

Comments

  • Rajoo Selvam on Jul 17, 2018 at 1:21 pm

    The truth of the matter, Proton was a success actually. It was a good car. But the only main problem was all its suppliers were UMNO leaders who supplied Proton with super low quality parts at super high prices.

    So poor Proton. The name became busuk.

    I suggest this to Tun, clean up all the crony UMNO suppliers and vendors….you will see Proton shine like a star.

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 259 Thumb down 65
    • Suppliers also supply to Perodua and they are thriving. Don’t blame others for your shortcoming.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 94 Thumb down 49
      • Dedak oh Dedak on Jul 17, 2018 at 2:12 pm

        60 years of Dedak no more. That is why even last month Proton sales jump up so high.

        New Government means transparency and clean. Proton also now on its way up. Way to Go Proton and PH and Tun!!!!!!!!!

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 13 Thumb down 9
        • Proton and 1MDB, both are ponzi schemes that need to be rooted out.

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 3
          • Tun really need a second national car project because after proton was sold to geely, all his cronies cannot supply parts to proton anymore. That’s why he is so upset when jibby sold proton to geely. Now he hope with a new national car project, his cronies can supply parts again. Habis la jibby… Who asked u to sell proton to geely???

            Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 3
      • Jobdonc on Jul 17, 2018 at 2:15 pm

        Summore new vendors also supply to Volvo, Geely and P1

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 2
        • Sohai on Jul 17, 2018 at 4:34 pm

          Material grade & design is unique for a cars. Material grade is quoted different price to different car makers.

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
        • “I’m told that no one wants to see a second national car. It’s enough that we have Proton, which is seen as a failure.”

          Tahu tak apa. We know that Proton is a failure long time ago. Close it down if u have to. The main priority is to continue to banish the corruption left by the past leader. Rakyat will thank you one day.

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 17 Thumb down 3
        • Sohai on Jul 17, 2018 at 6:48 pm

          I sell roti canai $1, but also sell to potong but $3. All want roti canai telur $2, but potong mau lower standard roti canai kosong but $4 & declared roti canai telor. Aiyoyo… macam ini punya company punya barang u mau bili ar…

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 0
      • Please ask the vendors what did they produce for perodua? How come many of the vendors are dying even though they also supplied parts to perodua?

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
      • Thivya on Jul 17, 2018 at 3:20 pm

        Perodua powertrain is still under daihatsu and not like proton which is locally made

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 24 Thumb down 5
      • khalid on Jul 18, 2018 at 2:26 am

        Maybe same suppliers supplying Perodua parts charges the X amount and then Perodua may sell for X+% amount to their buyers

        But when it comes to Proton turn , Proton may ask the same suppliers to supply the same parts at X/2 amount . So in order to make profits , those suppliers LOWER DOWN THE SPEC OR THIN DOWN THE PARTS , BUT PROTON THEN CHARGE 3X THE COST OF THE INFERIOR PARTS TO THE BUYERS .

        That why Proton parts are not lasting as compare to Perodua parts.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 0
    • Vincent on Jul 17, 2018 at 2:23 pm

      Not need the government to clean it! China CEO already did that! Parts price need to reduce further! Only those fit will last! Crony will stand out soon, they will cry that Chinapek buli Bumi supplier, they will call si bodoh to protest!

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 2
    • The suppliers happen to be atuk’s cronies. Now, some of them are already in PH, at least 3 currently in PPBM alone.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 1
    • One good thing Jibby did was to kick Proton from us and into the hands of China. That Proton project was a cancer to our society and economy.

      Except for a few models, most of them have been terrible cars. I owned a few of them in the past and have driven many of them in the present. Most of them are absolute junk, not worthy for Malaysians to drive.

      The Proton project also shifted our car market back by 20 years to make all the ancient technology in Proton look good. Competitors have been punished with taxation scheme to make their better cars more expensive so that Proton can artificially thrive in our market. Competitors like Toyota and Honda have to reduce cost by removing modern equipment to be competitive with Proton.

      How many Malaysians have died or badly injured in accidents due to inadequate modern safety technology because of Proton’s existence? How many have to suffer with low grade cars where in many modern countries they can get the best the industry have to offer at a reasonable price?

      So no need to repeat the failed experiment again. Focus on reducing our nation’s debt rather than toying with that fantasy of yours which is a nightmare to many Malaysians.

      Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 143 Thumb down 37
      • Silmi Isa on Jul 17, 2018 at 6:28 pm

        So Nero… I beleive you have a better solution to the main problem. How to avoid Malaysia become consumer country? What can Malaysia sell then? Maybe you have a better idea than selling cars.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
      • Raymand on Jul 17, 2018 at 7:03 pm

        A proton car saved my wife and 3 month old daughter after it was hit from the back which resulted it to flip several times and landed on it’s roof. Thank God the escaped without a scratch, i thank the strong structure of Proton as well. To my amazement the insurance company didn’t allow a write-off bcos the body was solid.

        It’s a decent car but like some mentioned here, Proton was practically runned by Umno cronies with their own pockets to be benefited. I’m don’t think selling to Geely is a bar idea provided their good track records. Surely Proton would be a Malaysian again one day.

        I’m a proud owner of a new persona, the car with periodic care, runs superbly.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 1
      • Yawnz on Jul 17, 2018 at 9:00 pm

        You mean P2? Pipu buy P2 coz it is cheap not bcoz it is good

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 5
    • blackbox on Jul 17, 2018 at 6:38 pm

      Tun don’t have to do that. Geely already did it.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
    • Ipoh boy on Jul 17, 2018 at 7:14 pm

      My first car also Proton. When I send for service they told me it takes 5 hrs to be ready. Oh my god.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 1
    • Ong Jyh Kheong on Jul 17, 2018 at 7:25 pm

      We have many engineers and later a lot more. They need an arena to perform, not end up selling cars like salesman. I have smart friends with colourful results in education, but finally ended up selling foreign cars, although he can explain to me a lot of fantastic design and scientific theories behind it, but he is still selling other people’s car, other people’s thought. I wonder what if he is explaining his car which is made of his own ideas and designs. I will be very proud of him and Malaysians. Malaysia actually have a lot of talented men and women, just they are not given opportunity due to political influences, or somehow racial discrimination that limit the truth performance of the real Malaysian. Now my talented friend who worked so hard to perform well in his education, his ambition to excell in engineering has to buried. Sometimes I may wonder what my son will do in Malaysia after he graduate from university. Will he be lucky as me getting a job which match my profession as a pharmacist, or end up to be a saleman selling imported medicines, or having opportunity to discover new drugs as I dreamed to be before?

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 1
    • Well Well on Jul 17, 2018 at 9:26 pm

      The car is only as good as the ppl who run it.. which are back then, machai of Tun. So what does that say???? What is missing is the progress Hondas, Toyotas and heck even KIA…. KIA is making 3.3 turbo V6 GT cars rivaling Beemers… and Potong? Cannot even break the 120k car, all because we needed to protect it with rakyat’s money. Once bitten twice shy lah.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Nama busuk was becoz of the then top boss aka chairman and later advisor, who happens to be now back to create new baby. Ini semua sarahan that Bapak.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 3
      • Trump on Jul 18, 2018 at 5:34 pm

        Blame here, blame there, never change. Deswai even governing power also lost.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 0
    • Skypernator on Jul 17, 2018 at 11:55 pm

      You do not know much about the local car parts manufacturers my friend. It’s not UMNO. Local businesses were involved and obviously came from all sort of determine fabricators. When we started with Proton, there were like 300 odd manufacturers. All worked hard in getting the contract. Ours were approved only after 2 years of assessments made by Proton. It was not that silver platter sort of dealings. And yes, we supplied later to Produa too as well as to Toyota and Honda. We worked hard to Excel and became industry leaders. No political connections at all.
      My friend, do your research and stop making up stories.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 0
    • Ah… come on Tun enough with the failure proton project. Malaysian love Perodua & Honda now. Dont force malaysian to buy ur junk proton or next national car p3.
      Limau import rasanya manis.

      Limau tempatan rasanya masam.
      Ramai nak makan limau manis. Tapi Tun M paksa rakyat makan limau masam.. hark tuih!

      Give the PM position to Anwar A.S.A.P!

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 7
      • John is Legendary on Jul 20, 2018 at 8:45 pm

        Tun was right. Malaysia is a nation full of consumers, obviously prefers imported ones and embarasses with local product.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • 7yrsold on Jul 17, 2018 at 1:25 pm

    Hidup Tun!! Thank you for making good on promises to root out corruption and ask about 1MDB ponzi.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 37 Thumb down 33
    • DonkeyKong on Jul 17, 2018 at 6:06 pm

      LOL “1MDB Ponzi”. Pop quiz. Tabung Harapan has RM150 million and climbing, they say. Do you know how much interest they’re getting from that fund? It’s upwards of RM5 million monthly. Where are those millions going? Hint: It’s not compounded back into Tabung Harapan.

      Good luck figuring out which is a real scam and which one is an alleged scam. And congratulations to all those dumbasses who donated to this tabung.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 9
      • 12yrsold on Jul 18, 2018 at 5:24 pm

        How much is the interest of RM150 million compared to RM2.6 billion? The millions are with the Gov while the billions are in personal account. So tell me which is a real scam?

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 1
      • Based on your calculation they getting more than 30% extra per annum. Wow. Can u share tips where I can get this interest rate?

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
  • John May 9 Nangis on Jul 17, 2018 at 1:32 pm

    We have no forget vision 2020 and maybe extend it to vision 2040. This is because corruption had prevented us being first world in 2020. Too much of money stolen.

    But nothing to worry. Now we have a clean Government. They are cleaning corruption. This means, in the future, Government will have lots of money to rebuild the country or even have a 3rd or 4th National car

    All this possible because all our tax money goes to LHDN fully and not to buy Birkin handbags

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 63 Thumb down 36
    • DonkeyKong on Jul 17, 2018 at 6:08 pm

      “Clean government” LOLLLLLL…. yeah, they’re so clean that they’re shopping around for a minimum of 1.5% “returns” for shelved projects that they will be reviving, and are now vetting through “approved contractor” lists to narrow down the ones who will play ball, but not associated with the previous government. So clean indeed.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 8
  • digidigi on Jul 17, 2018 at 1:35 pm

    don’t know is he acting or what, the problem is because the corruption between the supply chain, he never mention in public about this, good luck for his government

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 54 Thumb down 5
    • karam singh on Jul 17, 2018 at 3:32 pm

      be a responsibled Msia citizen.
      go ahead make report to MACC.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1
  • Peninsular Tanah Seri on Jul 17, 2018 at 1:36 pm

    The nation building striving to become a developed country is collectively an all citizens effort and responsibility, not tainted and tarnished by certain ethnicity superiority based policy.
    Look at Thailand there people are identify as Thai, look at Indonesia there people are identify as Indonesian, look at The Philippines there people are identify as Filipinos. Meanwhile looking at Malaysia there people generally refering themselves first by their ethnicity/religion then secondly only identify as Malaysian… Unity must always based on nationality not emphasising on religion nor ethnicity.

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 71 Thumb down 18
    • Hoohaa on Jul 17, 2018 at 2:41 pm

      That’s easy talk, but for a country where something as basic as education has quota divided by ethnicity, we have a long way to go

      Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 57 Thumb down 5
      • DonkeyKong on Jul 17, 2018 at 6:11 pm

        Yes, education is so divided by ethnicity that there are those who will live here their whole lives and can’t even speak the national language. And before they brag about English being more important, even their English sounds like total crap, and their mastery of language is only good enough for belting out Cantonese and Mandarin songs at karaoke joints

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 5
        • Azmin on Jul 19, 2018 at 12:54 am

          Yeah, like the ketua pembangkang who can’t even speak fluent English. Need his ‘assistant’ to help him answer in parliament.

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 0
  • alldisc on Jul 17, 2018 at 1:38 pm

    i am okay with the idea of national car maker. but we will all need to understand even though we want to be a full fledged manufacturer, we dont have the economy of scale to justify the costs of R&D and all.

    get rid of the egoism of proton sales and service centres of the past, and the syiok sendiri attitude of car designers and engineers.

    why i say syiok sendiri?
    1. they called waja asia’s answer to BMW. nothing happened in UK and or any other countries, except malaysia. famous for broken power window and door handles. slippery submarining seats.

    2. gen2. 1 cup holder for 5 occupants. no glove box.

    3. savvy. tough. TUV build quality. remember the advert? look at the sales.

    4. preve. proton very excited to introduce this car to europe, with 6 airbags, ESC and high level of crash safety then realise the campro turbo did not passed euro 5 emission level.

    5. iriz – global small car. game changer. what global?

    6. exora – indonesians like MPV a lot. they dont buy the exora. why.

    perhaps, the new company also collaborate with 5-6 companies in thailand, indonesia, vietnam, the philliphines. maybe even iran and turkey. this is how.

    first, it will buy license to use platforms from proton like waja, persona Mk1, persona Mk 11, exora, saga II, saga III.

    second. it will build a new body on top of the existing platform.

    third, every team representing the countries will design its own design for front end and rear end. wheel design, colour schemes, and dashboard top.

    this way, that specific car has its strength to sell in the market and to compete with whatever popular brands in that country (Perodua, Honda in Malaysia), (Toyota, Mitsubishi, Suzuki in Indonesia), (Toyota Honda in Thailand), (Toyota in Philliphines).

    why proton never popular in those countries? lack of strategy.

    10 countries in Asean has a number of huge population, maybe a billion ppl. even though 80% may live in poverty but the remaining 20% is equivalant to 200 million ppl. big market.

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 130 Thumb down 9
    • lilytan on Jul 17, 2018 at 2:29 pm

      If ur new national car idea will be the to for patronage at the expense of the people like proton did, please dont. But if this new company is fully private and competition driven, please do it. And please put a proper motorhead or technocrat at the top. Someone like peter schreyer or ghosn.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 22 Thumb down 2
    • LatukBandar on Jul 17, 2018 at 3:18 pm

      Your lack of understanding of how the world works is disturbing.

      Why in the world do you think the other 9 Asean countries wants to have their own national car? Singapore doesn’t, Thailand is happy with their export driven policies.

      Also, a quick google shows Asean has 630 million people, you said about 1 billion, too lazy to use google?

      and we simply do not have the ‘reputation’ as a car manufacturer. just look at Australia’s Holden.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 32 Thumb down 17
      • alldisc on Jul 17, 2018 at 9:56 pm

        That is now. The populations will change in 3-5 years to come when the new car is ready and goes on sale. It is called projection, for someone like you who doesn’t know about business plan.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
    • Awesome analysis, bro.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 5
    • michelin on Jul 19, 2018 at 5:00 pm

      I really missed alldisc’s comments.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Guan yin ma on Jul 17, 2018 at 1:38 pm

    Sorry Tun, I saw a lot porsche, benz in japan. Is people right to buy whatever vehicle they want, you cannot control the people right, you are not a dictator. By putting trade barrier to force people to buy local car, to be honest, is a bad way. We are not like singapore, they have limited land space thats why they have to control vehicle amount by using COE. Learn from China and US, they make toyota and honda in their own country to reduce money outflow, people happy, government happy, win win situation.

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 110 Thumb down 8
  • Ashraff on Jul 17, 2018 at 1:41 pm

    Too many cars which contribute to air pollution, carbon waste and traffic congestion..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 28 Thumb down 12
    • Pls. are your own a car? if got you got no right to say anything about it.. konon act. mcm vr professional…

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
    • Bapak has his macais cripple the public transport planning so to sapot on his new Baby. U think he will gip up on his new Baby? NO WAY!

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 7
      • dumb & dumber on Jul 19, 2018 at 1:10 am

        The more u open ur mouth, the dumber u show to the world.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1
  • Tun ah, Tun.having the idea of becoming developed country and venturing into automotive industry is a good and encouraged thought.
    The steps should be having solid,advanced national education, quality teachers around and cultivating meritocracy system to up bringing our children to become scientists,engineers,skilled technicians etc,then only talk about building advanced industry.
    Not the other way round, by ignoring all the essential infrastructures for nurturing man power,and one step to final process..it bound to be a failed products.

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 63 Thumb down 5
    • Malaysian on Jul 18, 2018 at 1:30 am

      Best comments made. And that may hv to take a generation to fix I think by looking at our society today.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Initially u stated that our nation have a huge debt up to 1T and have to restructure everythings to avoid being bankrupt..why all of sudden Malaysia need another project to establish another national car manufacturer that could cost Malaysia huge sum of money??did advance engineering only applies in car manufacturing processes??y don’t Malaysia invest more towards another field of engineering such as gas compressors design, advance agricultural tech n etc..Malaysian are thinking forward to success by voting pakatan to endure Malaysia to next level..I think it’s only u that thinking backwards…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 48 Thumb down 2
  • dong gor on Jul 17, 2018 at 1:44 pm

    Automotive industry is too competitive today with so many reputable and capable car brands. Let’s focus on things that can help Malaysia’s economy and drop this dream. Dreams are good, but for the similar nightmare- one is more than enough

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 27 Thumb down 2
  • Ahmadjr on Jul 17, 2018 at 1:44 pm

    Taiwan has no locally produced cars but still technological advanced. Netherlands is a farming country but still technological advanced. Both of the countries are high income nations with low unemployment. Is is expected thailand gets at least usd 10 billions in income tax revenue from the car companies alone

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 43 Thumb down 2
    • taiwan on Jul 17, 2018 at 3:27 pm

      seem you forget about Luxgen (taiwan’s local car), which produce by nissan technical partner in taiwan

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 0
      • Ahmadjr on Jul 18, 2018 at 8:27 pm

        Luxgen is a subsidiary company from nissan manufacturer in taiwan like naza for kia. But yes they have their own patent and technology. P1 should be like luxgen after geely buy out. Not just rebadged for geely

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
    • Correct me if I’m wrong, but Taiwan have Luxgen, and they are beautiful cars.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 0
      • Tido oh tido on Jul 17, 2018 at 9:05 pm

        Pipu want ugly sushi not beautiful taiwanese or p1

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 5
        • Lex Luthor on Jul 18, 2018 at 5:32 pm

          Comparing P1 with Taiwanese is like comparing shit with beautiful flower.

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
  • Cold hard facts: no volume, no car making company.
    And to rub salt onto the wound, ever changing regulations and progress from competitors were just too much for a small time car maker that keeps soldiering on with whatever’s in the inventory bin, yet still driven by knuckleheads that insist no outside help is needed to keep the boat afloat.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 17 Thumb down 0
  • Leafable on Jul 17, 2018 at 1:49 pm

    Using public money to build a brand is not a 2020 vision. It’s a waste of resources and when it fail the whole country suffer the consequences and every citizens have to pay for that leader’s silly idea/mistake.

    Building Vision 2020 is to attract world wide big companies with great incentives/policies to set up shop here and create employments/opportunities for the locals in return more tax revenues to build schools/hospitals for our future generations with world class educational and healthcare system. Now thats a vision we all can look forward to instead of your little car fanatic wet dream.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 31 Thumb down 3
  • David on Jul 17, 2018 at 1:55 pm

    I only support it if it’s electric car.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 24 Thumb down 1
  • tokmoh. on Jul 17, 2018 at 1:56 pm

    15 years ago, Proton was even better than Koreans.

    Perdana V6 > Sonata jaguar celup
    Satria GTi > all, even until today
    Waja > Spectra, Elantra

    Then, we lost it. Kia-Hyundai now have gone way ahead, while Proton can’t even sell cars to its neighbour. That’s what happens when you put clueless monkeys instead of real automotive people to lead Proton. And when you actual had a good guy, you kicked him out. Well done DRB!

    What Dr Li Chunrong did for the past year was not rocket science, it’s anyone with brain would know. But the cronies clearly don’t have that. And that’s why Proton faltered for the past 6 years.

    Not to worry. Geely is merciful and generous. Geely will bring salvation to this country, and undo every suffering and opportunity loss we have suffered. Proton will rise, that is inevitable. You’ve tried it yourself, Tun.

    Proton will grow bigger than ever before, create more jobs and value unlike never before, together with Geely. All for only 49.9% ownership, the best ever deal Proton ever made.

    Proton, Geely > all

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 67 Thumb down 5
    • Perdana V6? You mean the model that Perak, Selangor and Terengganu dump to get another models?

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
      • tokmoh. on Jul 18, 2018 at 9:07 pm

        Got many normal people use Perdana V6, where got maintenance like those state govt use one.

        Which means the fleet manager slaughtered the state govt kaw2. Then Proton MD at that time, DS Syed Zainal Abidin had to make press conference that Perdana V6 maintenance not stupidly high, gearbox RM3k only, where got until RM30k.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
        • Normal people? takyah tegangkan benang yang basahlah. Look at forum and ask around. You can’t whitewash just because it happened a while ago.

          Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
          • tokmoh. on Jul 19, 2018 at 2:01 pm

            Find me a normal people who paid rm30k for changing the gearbox, I’ll lari bogel at proton factory.

            Iirc, terengganu paid rm130k for maintenance of MB’s perdana v6 over 5 years? Tell me if this is normal maintenance cost all Perdana v6 owners paid. Paul Tan himself also used to own Perdana V6, can he verify?

            Who is the one trying to tegangkan benang yang basah?

            Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
    • willie on Jul 17, 2018 at 3:10 pm

      Ossum comment Tok. Godspeed Proton!

      Proton SUV > Tucson, Sportage

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
    • LatukBandar on Jul 17, 2018 at 3:24 pm

      Perdana, Satria, and Waja are all rebadged cars from Mitsubishi. Waja is Proton’s first attempt at designing their own car but still uses Mitsubishi’s technology, Gen 2 with Campro Engine is probably the first car Proton successfully develop without much technology from Mitsubishi.

      So, to say Perdana, Satria and Waja is better than Korean cars is true, that is because it is still a Japanese car with some cosmetic change by Proton.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 5
      • tokmoh. on Jul 17, 2018 at 5:06 pm

        Those era’s Sonata, Elantra etc also used Mitsubishi-derived powertrain, it was after that era they co-develop Theta powertrain with Mitsubishi and Chrysler, and then even more own-developed powertrain. Sonata started off with Galant platform too, so it wasn’t far off that both adopt same business model of taking Mitsubishi cars and input their own changes.

        Satria GTi had Lotus handling treatment, cannot say it is a rebadged Mitsubishi. So was Perdana and Waja. So Proton back then did a better job than Hyundai, but Koreans totally pwned Proton thereafter.

        Until now. Geely is fast becoming a force to be reckoned with. Proton is blessed to be able to be part of this great empire in the making.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 3
      • alldisc on Jul 17, 2018 at 7:39 pm

        Satria GTi is almost full Malaysian made body, unique front end to lancer, unique rear end to Colt. Styling is by lotus, as well as ride and handling – the first touch by lotus for proton.

        Before Sonata, Hyundai was selling the Stellar a car based on Ford Cortina.

        While Kia was selling the micro car Pride, based on Mazda 121.

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • mig29 on Jul 17, 2018 at 3:48 pm

      New tongkat concept. Let other people do for us.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Okinawan on Jul 17, 2018 at 1:58 pm

    Malaysia will never emulates Japan success due to huge differences between these two nations. Japanese are highly nationalistic and loyal to their nation no matter what their ancestor ethnicity is either yamato, emishi, ainu, ryukyuan, han, choseon, nivkh, jomon, etc. Furthermore they are extremely hardworking as they do not find excuse to leave work frequently due to certain religious obligations. Japan is a constitution monarchy with a singular monarch house.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 36 Thumb down 18
  • pengayuhbasikal on Jul 17, 2018 at 1:59 pm

    talking about national car (actually the local heavy industry).. proton itself failed to produce a good engine…how to survive..at least..if proton can sell their engines to small car manufacturer like lotus…then we can be proud of national car (national heavy industries)…why don’t Lotus use proton engines during the ownership ?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 2
  • Greenroda on Jul 17, 2018 at 1:59 pm

    Thailand is doing better and without a national car. It is the policy that matters. After 30 years and we still dont know how to make the transmission and engine, why continue. Or may be start with bicyle and motorcycle. We can’t even make motorcycle engine and trasmission yet. So sad right..and yet want to talk about car again? Rebranding reassembly rebadge etc are not national.. nothing to be proud of to continue when it is at the expense of the rakyat!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 33 Thumb down 4
  • We should ban leaders from setting vision 2020, 2050, 2100 or 3018… By that time, these leaders also dunno in which lobang. All these visions are just deceive people to vote for them forever.

    They should only declare what they are going to do in the next 5 years and work to achieve that.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 49 Thumb down 6
  • Mamat on Jul 17, 2018 at 2:02 pm

    Childish….

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 17 Thumb down 2
  • no, im not willing to sacrifice the access to a foreign car. people do not buy car based on resale value in other country compared to most malaysians did. it is we, outselves who ruined the automotive market in malaysia.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 3
  • Even our neighbour Singapore without a national car industry can becomes a developed country that rises from previous third world. They got bio tech , electronics , semi conductors , banking services accepted worldwide without using confirming banks , port revenue, tourism , good airport and so on..

    Why malaysia need a national car project then only can achieved developed status? Does not make sense.
    The rest of other industries are dead then.

    what about aircraft industry , ship building, agricultural machineries , car spare parts industries for OEM or original for all brands , Bio Tech and so on…..

    It is due to Singapore good education policy, good training , good R&D , no corruption , no hand out to feed the mouth without using hands , good command and understanding of English to do international business easily that can generate revenue/income , maintain good professionals ( not maintaining useless people without contributions)

    Singapore is developed status without any national car industry and even the Singapore Passport is the most powerful in the world currently.

    Malaysia can learn from Singapore to achieve developed status– no need to go japan ( look east ) . Not many like the Look East policy .

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 31 Thumb down 2
    • Satria GTi is almost full Malaysian made body, unique front end to lancer, unique rear end to Colt. Styling is by lotus, as well as ride and handling – the first touch by lotus for proton.

      Before Sonata, Hyundai was selling the Stellar a car based on Ford Cortina.

      While Kia was selling the micro car Pride, based on Mazda 121.

      Never compare Malaysia and Singapore. That’s just stupid. Unless Singapore is the same size of sumatera island. The right comparison is between Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong. All are small islands countries.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Jacoon on Jul 18, 2018 at 2:36 am

      Singapore is so tiny that if the Klang Valley (or probably Penang too) is a country itself, it’ll be a 1st World Country.

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  • With the rakyat not in favour of the idea to have 2nd national car does not mean that we will be doomed with Vision 2020 just vanishes as it is. While I respect utmost Tun M, automotive industry is not the only industry that will make our country prosperous. Singapore does not have their national car – are they doing badly? NO.

    And one thing, we are not ready to give up the Japanese, Korean, and continental cars. We do not want to see national cars all over the streets. We want choices.

    Workers, engineers, and managers – as you mentioned, they can all contribute their talents and efforts in other industries that will make our country grow.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 2
  • BOYRACER on Jul 17, 2018 at 2:25 pm

    While his idea of another national car is noble,he forgot to look at the bigger picture.While he talked about Japanese and Korean cars,he forgotten that these cars were imported to USA.One of the biggest market in the world.
    The Japanese in the 70s while Koreans in the 80s.They were laughing stock in the beginning.However the Japs got their timing right by exporting there during the oil crisis.
    The Koreans tried to sell in the USA by means of long warranty and such.However they were met with ridicule as they cars were thought as craps.Disappointed they stop for a while.Long story short,they came back with a bang.Look at them now.Their cars are all over the world.

    What these people realised is they cannot survive by selling their cars in their homeland only.They need sustained profitability which in my opinion Proton made a blunder there.
    Different countries different set of regulations.

    To cater for these changes,carmakers needs a lot of funding which sadly Proton didn’t have or didn’t fully utilised.
    For me if they want to make another national car project,by all means go ahead BUT can they guarantee their products is as good as the Japanese,Koreans or German products.If yes,pls proceed.If not then I’m not going to buy another of your sub standard products.No more excuses.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 14 Thumb down 1
  • Vincent on Jul 17, 2018 at 2:25 pm

    Please lar Tun! Malaysia do not need national car to be developed country! It is only your own dream! Not ours! WE just want a fair, clean and transparent arena for Malaysian to develop! WE will be develop country!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 16 Thumb down 1
  • Smokey on Jul 17, 2018 at 2:26 pm

    I would rather the gov grant more money on other technologies rather than car.. its not just car industry alone that can propel our country’s economy

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 0
  • tiadaid (Member) on Jul 17, 2018 at 2:29 pm

    Mahathir’s vision is so small. Instead of creating a new national car, why not create a national plane instead. Go head to head with the big boys like Boeing & Airbus who are controlling the market. China & Japan are just entering the market, so we have the chance to jump them.

    So why limit yourself to just a car, Mahathir? Go big or go homelah!

    #sarcasmalertforthosewhoarestraightasaruler

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 1
  • Mikey on Jul 17, 2018 at 2:43 pm

    The truth is me & those who voted PH/Tun M did NOT vote for a New national Car.

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  • zulkarim on Jul 17, 2018 at 2:50 pm

    If Tun M wanna start a new National Car project i suggest start it with electric cars. Start fresh with the latest tech is offering now. Just saying…. why not?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 1
    • Seelan on Jul 17, 2018 at 8:37 pm

      Most big manufacturers now are already in the electric cars bandwagon & starting another one is not going to do any good to us. Why not research on new sustainable energies or batteries that can last longer or even super solar cell power or something? This would be more beneficial & lucrative as the electric car developers need batteries that can last longer & charge faster & imagine being a supplier to many brands…which is more profitable? U think..

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • LOK CHYI YEU on Jul 17, 2018 at 3:03 pm

    Old man talk now. Same point as i previous mention, what is the point of manufacturing own car when most of the stuff it use mostly imported?

    The market so small it is not realistic speaking to set up a plant here just to cater to the small amount of population, the R&D cost cannot be cover and yet need to be subsidies by the government

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 1
  • Hidup Tun on Jul 17, 2018 at 3:22 pm

    In my opinion, it’s high time to call for national project 2, because the combustion engines days are numbered. The future is electric cars. You could see new players dominating the market soon. So everybody are on equal playing field. Work hard now, team up with ASIAN UNION (India, China, Japan & Korea) we (Malaysia) shall prevail within next couple of years. Tun M vision is correct! Malaysian, please listen…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 3
  • Ben Yap on Jul 17, 2018 at 3:24 pm

    not even 1 proton car can match my honda civic 2.5 turbo in performance and refinement.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 3
  • Philip on Jul 17, 2018 at 3:38 pm

    Isn’t Perodua a national car brand? Seems to be doing very well…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 2
    • Nope. Its a national car assembler

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 4
      • If a car assembler can have success. What excuse does a car rebadge company like Proton has?

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  • Perodua Buyer on Jul 17, 2018 at 3:41 pm

    Thanks for the sarcasm, Tun. The majority of Malaysians reject the idea simply because we do not want to continue to become the 2nd most expensive country in the world to own a car (only behind Singapore). We finally have a sigh of relief when Geely bought into Proton to fix the mess that the management of Proton has failed to solve for decades.

    If you want a 2nd car national, sure by all means go ahead. But please no government funds, no bail outs by governments and no ridiculous protectionism excise duty or policies. Let the so called “private sector” go at it freely with zero government intervention. But then, you as the government leader should not interfere and therefore there is no need to talk about it. If you are harping on this, it simply means that you as the government has the intention to interfere and therefore Proton 2.0 is certainly the case. This is the reason why Malaysians oppose the idea strongly.

    Proton is still a national car despite 49.9% ownership by Geely. Why can’t you get pass this in your head? If you think about it, the only issue with this is your massive ego to prove yourself right at the cost of Malaysians.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 28 Thumb down 3
    • We elected the new leaders not to resurrect the automotive industry. Tun, FOCUS! Work on transparency, corruption, social welfare, country’s infrastructure development, and OUR PAYABLE TAXES.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 1
  • Robinhood on Jul 17, 2018 at 3:42 pm

    One of the main reasons that Proton failed is nepotism whereby the parts are contracted to cronies although these suppliers produced low quality parts. Low quality parts led to low quality vehicles. Nobody loves to have their power windows break down especially in the rainy season. I am sure most have seen Proton drivers have to open their car doors just to access the Touch n Go. This is the legacy of Proton – “Broken Power Windows”

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 0
  • Steve on Jul 17, 2018 at 3:43 pm

    No, no more national car. We have suffered more than 30 years. Enough is enough…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 2
  • Val Der on Jul 17, 2018 at 3:44 pm

    Although Proton have more room to improve, they are good enough. The major problem that affect Proton and other Malaysian brands is the “Buatan Malaysia” stigma. Regardless how good is our own brands and products, it’ll never be as good as imported stuff, even if it is from the PRC.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 2
  • mr_em on Jul 17, 2018 at 3:50 pm

    Dear Tun M,

    Car making is not your forte. And please, we are not stucked in 1983. This is 2018.

    Just keep focusing on unwinding your legacy re: corruption etc and that will be just fine.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 2
  • Zulfikar on Jul 17, 2018 at 3:55 pm

    Pemikiran Tun jauh kedepan 20-40 tahun.Bukan semua kita boleh nampak sejauh begitu.Ramai antara kita berfikiran singkat,ambil jalan mudah dan nak cepat dapat hasil walaupun hasil yang tidak berkualiti.Contoh kerajaan sebelum ni ambil mudah dengan menggadaikan hakmilik rakyat Malaysia kepada orang asing.Tun M layak berkata begitu sebab dari sebelum Proton wujud,Tun sudah fikirkan perancangan bukan setahun dua tapi berpuluh tahun kedepan.Saya memang kagum cara berfikir Tun.Saya dapat rasakan apa yang ada dalam pemikiran Tun untuk rakyat Malaysia juga,tapi maaf kata ada fikiran kita yang lebih negatif bila di cadangkan perkara seperti begitu.Sekian

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Don’t re-invent the wheel. Time to move on.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1
  • Dilip on Jul 17, 2018 at 4:19 pm

    How hard is it to get a professional, build profit and loss from beginning of Proton till it was sold. Take into account all the bailout, the subsidies, how much it benefited the people in tangible way. What u guys think? Tun should be practical, not emotional.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Mikhel on Jul 17, 2018 at 5:22 pm

    As taken from the article..
    before explaining the benefits of a country having its own “CAPABLE” carmakers.

    capability is more important. once already proven failure despite many rescue missions, Tun really needs a holistic plan before we come up with ideas..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Muthulingam Ramiah on Jul 17, 2018 at 5:40 pm

    No, we should Not start another National Car Company. Why you mask, well the reason is simple, as it is, the local market is not big enough to sustain the existing National Car makers, let alone another one.
    In the Automotive Industry, you either go big or you go home, because everything is driven by Economies of Scale…To be blun, there is just not enough Total Industry Volume (TIV) locally to sustain a truly profitable Automotive business. Go Global you might say, well, Proton’s export performance has been very bad since day one, they have been bleeding badly in almost all their export markets. Do we have what it takes to take on Global Automotive Giants in the Global Market?
    No, I dont think so, not unless we go full electric and join the Electric Revolution and start producing Electric Vehicle Components first before we start making Electric Cars…

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  • Irwan on Jul 17, 2018 at 5:40 pm

    Dear Tun M,
    Proton is a disaster even when you were the PM back then. The monopoly of business forced us the consumer to pay a lot of money for stupid accessories and components so called OEM from Proton.
    We are relieved when Proton is going down because of their stupidity, so please do not recreate such company again.
    You were chosen in GE14 to save us from BN, please do not make us choose others again.
    Thank u Tun M.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Anti snowflakes troller on Jul 17, 2018 at 5:49 pm

    C’monlah wei. You all that say local car maker trashlah, imported car is the best lah. Look at how many defects and recalls toyota and honda had, dont forget how many airbags deaths too. Volkswagon had issues with parts, continental cars always end up breaking up in heavy jams. All these you all will pretend not to notice but will still suck up to these brands. But you will always enjoy critic your own homegrown industries. You bunch should peel your eyes open and look at how many old protons are still on the road. If the quality was so poor as you snowflakes claim, they would have really been buried and off the road by now. Perodua is also local automobile maker, isnt that successful? Do you know proton is still being used in many foreign third world countries? The latest protons use japanese technology like honda’s. Only difference is there are produced mostly locally and only this way, the industry can slowly grow into 100% fully local developed. Of coz, you snowflakes are also the same bunch who gets ripped off all the time by imported, branded goods, without knowing you’re paying mostly for brand and not for quality. N you also get conned into buying fake products just because its a foreign brand. Oh, Wait, you think you’re a first world country dweller, hahhaha, no way. Not with your third world mentality. Wake up Malaysians.

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  • Khairul Annuar on Jul 17, 2018 at 6:00 pm

    Maybe we should have a consortium of ASEAN car brand much like Airbus is for the European Union. What better way to consolidate the ASEAN cooperation with something physically tangible.

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  • 1) Whenever company not making profit or did not achieve target, investors and country cover losses. How to improve? Do nothing and get paid.
    2) Company run by corrupt officers. Supply chain all officer buddies. Materials n product no standard also can pass from political pressure.
    3) Creating an engineering product, r u employing talents, or employing ppl because u wan to claim u r creating “engineering jobs”? When u purchase technology transfer, how is it possible u can close the deal while ur company developed nothing?

    U wan a car company:
    1) the company members need to bear responsibility, not the country. Worse come to worse, few years in and no development or pressured out of competition, then just close shop. Clearly u r not capable, don’t keep running n lament “no support”
    2) No corruption. Make sure ur supply chain materials all pass quality standard. No such thing as accepting low quality materials just because supplier have political power, in the end become a place to absorb “junks”

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  • Silmi Isa on Jul 17, 2018 at 6:33 pm

    Malaysia is a consumer country. Tried to change mindset of my close relative also failed. People just dont realize that when you consume other country product, you bring down your money value. Once the country bancrupt then only Malaysian will try consume own product.

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  • Hmm... Much Hmm... on Jul 17, 2018 at 6:33 pm

    The biggest difference with P1 and Japanese car companies is meritocracy. Yes we have good engineers in P1, but not the best our country has to offer. Japanese and Koreans due to their homogeneity has it easy for them. Here, our best talents had long left.

    Yes we Malaysians can do it, we can make one of the best car company in the world, just look at our sports teams, meritocracy allowed us to be world champions multiple times. But the question now is, how is this new gomen going unravel a mistake cemented 6 decades ago? that had ties all the way back to the 18th century (Yes, the British started it all).

    So my message to Tun M is, unless we have a foolproof plan to unravel a hundred years of cultural conditioning over this decade, please don’t back another white elephant project, it will never be able to compete with other nations even ASEAN ones, use your influences to help our people instead.

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  • Thomas Lim on Jul 17, 2018 at 6:36 pm

    Priorities. I think that while a second national car may be good in the long run but at this juncture, there are so many things domestically that are not right which need to be corrected such as improving our education, solving the brain drain and exodus of talented Malaysians. When the right reforms are set in motion then perhaps we can revisit the idea of a second or new national car. Also, we have to change our mentality and learn that practicality over pride is the way forward, for example, investing in education and space research, then designing our own space travel vehicle rather than pay others to ride on their rockets. What is certain is that if we ran the new national car the way we ran Proton, expect it to fail again and again criticized and ridiculed by auto experts.

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  • blackbox on Jul 17, 2018 at 6:42 pm

    We don’t have to stop the private sector from venturing into the automotive industry. Just make sure no more heavy tax on foreign car in order to protect local brand. Make sure they are fighting in a fair environment.

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  • Brian D on Jul 17, 2018 at 6:43 pm

    If Proton developed quality cars they could be competative… making a monopolo in an industry and country where corruption will ensure poor quality and inflated part suppliers.. is a bad strategy and one the government would do well to let sleeping dogs lay… Proton to survive needs to be leaner.. meaner and start producing quality good looking cars… good competition should make you stronger.. not remove them so you do not have to perform..

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  • Silmi Isa on Jul 17, 2018 at 6:47 pm

    Malaysian want to spend money out. No need to buy own product. Let Malaysian enjoy the money value while it still have value. After all spending later generation can realize and re-build Malaysia Ringgit by buying Malaysia product.

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  • Lawrence on Jul 17, 2018 at 6:49 pm

    If he starts another PROTON Version 2, 10 years later will also be sold to probably, GREAT WALL.

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  • Proton was born during my childhood and now I am a proton owner.. I’m very happy with it..
    For what you have to pay, it is VERY good car.. as for the dream to be at par with national players.. you have to look at the age.. eventho Hyundai and Kia always being compare to how it has grown.. the company’s age is even older than Malaysia, let alone proton itself..

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  • give n take on Jul 17, 2018 at 7:05 pm

    cronies n monopoly is the main reason of failure n root of corruption n unprofessional, bad attitude leaders lead to fail elephant project.
    1. good ideal doesn’t make the project success by itself, you need the right talent to execute n implement it fairly, professionally, clean, this never ever will happen in malaysia due to the policy of cronies n monopoly that will cause the corruption n bad attitude that lead to failure.
    2. japan n korea can success not because of car making, their sucess is bcos they have the right attitude, execute n implement it professionally as above mentioned n eliminate corruption, cronies n monopoly. one simple example, will japan korea close their eyes n ears of the power windows problem for 20 years?
    3. too much public fund (tax payer money) to government failed project over 60 years by bn umno cronies.
    4. unless the cronies n monopoly remove, or never mention again national car, we know very well government wont remove the policy, that y stop dreaming national car.
    when government able to appoint the professional not unprofessional politic appointment, execute it clean not corruption, open tender not cronies, implement it right not racist, contribute n construtive not religions haters, at that time only talk about national car.

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  • Ipoh boy on Jul 17, 2018 at 7:18 pm

    My first car also Proton. When I send for service they told me it takes 5 hrs to be ready. Oh my god.

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  • Shawn on Jul 17, 2018 at 7:19 pm

    South Korea has a flat rate of 8% import tax for EU cars and 4% for American cars. Korean cars improved because they looked at international sales. That means quality, technology and design all became an important aspect. Korea now bustles with many imported cars as well as their local cars. Proton didn’t look towards the future properly. In the end many Malaysians rather buy Japanese or Korean (if they could afford it). In the 90s and early 2000s Proton sales overseas was horrible. Not to mention the poor reviews given. Yet still no improvement on anything that was worth mentioning. Thanks to Proton look at our ridiculously sky high import taxes for cars. It doesn’t allow our automotive industry to grow where it should

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  • T H Tan on Jul 17, 2018 at 7:38 pm

    Perudua is our second national car. Just change the name to Perutama.

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  • Sachs Husam on Jul 17, 2018 at 7:48 pm

    Mahathir should think how to reduce cars on earth not increase the volume of them. Mahathir should think to create jobs for engineers to businessmen while keeping our earth clean and sustainable.

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  • Yong Peng Kit on Jul 17, 2018 at 8:48 pm

    I will be waiting for Tun’s national car, as it’s going to be historic and I’m sure he is much wiser now compared to b4, as now we have highly intelligent cabinet, unlike last time.

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  • in my humble opinion, 1st of all somebody need to tell him people vote for PH as they want to see changes. not change to the ‘good’ old time. its not about him.. its about agenda of change

    second of all, nowadays people talk about industry 4.0 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry_4.0).. this should be our vision 20xx (enter 2 digit year). if we refer to the link, mass production, assembly line belong to 2nd revolution. do we want to be left behind again or shall we at least focus on niche idea in 3rd revolution i.e. Computer and automation and 4th revolution – Cyber Physical System.

    We did right by having Cyberjaya but sadly, according to recent research Cyberjaya is in a fail state (we only going to have 800mbps soon.. hooray)

    (http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2018/07/13/cyberjaya-a-failure-think-tank-study-finds/)

    Probably too much ‘syok sendiri’ (or ego?) and lack of engagement with the industry player (or maybe too much political driven decision.. revenge drive etc i.e. national car 3.0 because the old one has been sold by mr. N(emesis) and yes we considering triple tower as well to overtake TRX which going to overtake my KLCC – http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2018/07/16/new-super-tall-triplets-in-kl-to-make-up-for-twin-towers-loss-to-pnb-118/).. i think not until malaysia grow up then we can see real changes for benefit of future.

    unless we have population like india (read Tata which bought Jag and Land Rover) and China than we will have advantage for car manufacturer to have their volume (unless we expect 99% of malaysian to have the same car brand)

    another bothering fact is that, Perodua was never mentioned anywhere is his memory.. maybe Perodua is a success (by sales volume) but he is not part of it.

    pls bring the real change.. not change to old

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  • Pui Mei on Jul 17, 2018 at 8:59 pm

    Perodua – my first car was a Kancil. To me that is national made in Malaysia. It was a good car I had close to 8 years

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  • Bernard on Jul 17, 2018 at 9:01 pm

    Tun should first mould a civilised society which we are eons away from.
    Bolehland is still ‘first class infrastructure’, third world mentality. Are we like the Japanese, Germans or like the Scandinavian states in any shape or form? I think we know the answer.

    Second, People only bought Proton because they had absolutely no choice. Is that a successful car company? Proud?

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  • Why’s nobody talking about Electric cars? Haven’t you seen the hype of Tesla model 3?

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  • Su Eng Hock on Jul 17, 2018 at 9:49 pm

    Singapore and Thailand don’t have National car project but they don’t become farmers and definitely not lacking of engineers. They have progressed so much. Without the National Car project, Thailand has created so many real engineers and became the Detroit of the East. Tun ‘s statement is misleading.

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  • Patrick on Jul 17, 2018 at 10:00 pm

    Why don’t we all forget making conventional cars. Let’s build cars like tesla. Imagine if we had enough electric cars. There will also be a market for more electric charging stations. And then even more electric cars. Im pretty sure if we invited tesla they would be interested. Why don’t we think of us differently. But Yes. Let’s first remove all corruption then proceed.

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  • Malaysian Electric Vehicles (Second National Project of the Future) on Jul 17, 2018 at 10:06 pm

    Why are still focusing on a convectional gasoline cars as the second national car….that not the future…by 2020 there will be more hybrid’s and EV cars on the road/market ..then wat do we do with the second national petrol or diesel car, wont be able to export as other regions would have change their emission policies which will trickle down to the rest of the world.
    Come out with a plan for a fully new national EV vehicle, am sure that will gain more traction for manufactures & technology companies focusing on autonomous driving and safety features, the amount of industries needed to propel this kind of innovation will setup the country’s future economy.
    Think of the future not just focus on what we can re-try again as the time does not stop for our nation to go back to the drawing board and redo something which fail time and time again. I believe if manufacturing, science and technology want to be the driver of our country’s future economy, we need an national electric vehicle (EV), PHEV or anything which does not burn fossil fuel.
    We will be saving our beloved country’s eco system from collapsing, able to breath fresh air in our cities once again. Why not come our with our own national Battery technology, is the key to the future, whether its phones, wireless equipment, cars, drones, it all requires batteries with longer capacity, quick charging and longevity. Imagine the possibilities of battery cell application is endless in today’s time.

    Imagine if Tun M set up’s an Gigafactory in Malaysia to create sustainable energy through increasingly affordable electric vehicles and energy products once we have battery technology of our own, endless supply chain to all of Asia and other Regions, cheaper and reliable ….Big boom in our economy not to mention countless new jobs available in our own country. We have to dream of a new Malaysia since the first step is done, change of government and now perhaps can get to the next steps looking into a blissful future of change.

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  • Alson P on Jul 17, 2018 at 10:07 pm

    We need second and third national automaker.. Our country need revolution industry and transformation economic.. We need to be an advanced country after 2020.. I am agrees with second and third national automaker.. Gogo Tun

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  • Ravind on Jul 17, 2018 at 10:08 pm

    Enough of the NAP and local protectionist policies. Doing us no good. If you can’t compete in an open market, then go away already.

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  • Suren on Jul 17, 2018 at 10:17 pm

    The last time I checked Perusahaan otomobil kedua (Perodua) is also a Malaysian car. Why can’t we just improve the quality of those cars and stop worrying about proton. Why tun is so obsessed with proton ? It’s simply because of Tun’s proton generation , all the import cars cost 200% more than it costs in other countries. A Ford Mustang eco boost 2.2 is only USD22k. Do you know how much it costs in malaysia ?

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  • Lau Wei Yiang on Jul 17, 2018 at 10:32 pm

    Very heartbreaking to see Tun M say “forget proton, forget vision 2020”. He is a man of determination, not a man of negative thoughts. Where is Malaysia Boleh?

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  • Syed Abdul karim bin Syed imam on Jul 17, 2018 at 11:08 pm

    100% true what Tun trying to tell malaysian about his dissapoinment on losing Proton the icon of every malaysian to foreigner. What Tun concerns is the opportunity loss of our malaysian engineers and local manufacturer to participate in the automative industry and the proud of our own National car. We already hv the experience and expertise to produse almost 99% locally. Any previous mistakes can be corrected we should support what Tun Mahathir is trying to advocate of new National car Hopefully every malaysian should support it. In sya Allah with god willing we can succed.

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  • Patrick Pan on Jul 17, 2018 at 11:17 pm

    Thailand don’t produce their own national car but Thailand is a major car assembly hub for many car brands, why can’t Malaysia be like Thailand? So that more jobs created for Rakyat and improve nation economy.

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  • Jin Loke on Jul 17, 2018 at 11:32 pm

    Tun M should follow the vehicles like Tesla because of electric cars, most people will have no problem on air pollution and Proton should have divided to 3 parts which is Tesla, Geeky and itself have to take over for global warming. Because the ice is melting faster and faster so the future of EV cars such as BMW, Mini, Tesla, Mercedes Benz and other car industry should take place fast by 2020.

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  • James Lee on Jul 17, 2018 at 11:51 pm

    The idea was to have a national car that is great in quality, value for money and most of all, has the hearts of Malaysian. One of the perks or main goals of this national car was to have a sedan car that is up to par with the foreign cars much similar like the Japanese cars. The main fall of the national car was when Malaysia grant the license to operate for perodua. The purpose of allowing this was that the car can only produce compact cars. At that point of time, the cars selling point was due to daihatsu inheritance. Fast track, now perodua can be allowed to even build a sedan, that was the end for proton. Through the years, perodua has won Malaysians heart over due to the word of mouth. To be honest perodua cars have much more problems then proton in terms of quality, but that didn’t bother Malaysians much. People rather buy an expensive small car compared to proton.

    Technology wise, throughout the years since 1983, there really isn’t much improvements in the car that can be significantly seen as those things cost money which will eventually be included into the purchase price for consumers. The design of the car was not much to impress, interior wise there isn’t much technology to shout about. Basically it’s a standard car that gets you from point A to B. Perodua evolve much more to what it becomes today which is more or less makes more sense for the hefty price tag for a smaller car. At least now it has some technology in it. Why, because they have earned enough to enhance the car further.

    I have been a proton owner since my first job till now. To be honest, the car has never brought me any problems even after 8 years. There are of course wear and tear, but those are really small things like power window. Those really don’t cost much, compared to my friends whom drive myvi, the amount of times they have to visit the work shop and yet he problem is still there, really goes beyond me. Basically nothing much to complain about, protons quality is much better.

    Selling off the proton brand is a good thing as we do not have the technology or the creative mindset to design a car or even enhance further from there. 30 years is a long time to evolve, but really not much improvements. Compare to the likes of Japanese cars that evolve so much. We should know when it is time to step back.

    Designing another Malaysian car would definitely not be the best of idea. The car industry market is very very competitive now. Even the Chinese company geely has been bought over Daimler, such a reputable company also is now under China. China has the technology to evolve. If we can learn from them then probably it will go far. But learning is one thing, at a certain point in time, we would have to also rely on ourselves, which Malaysians is lacking in that field.

    Automotive industry is not always the main thing to venture into. If you don’t make it, then you would not make it. Take for example, FIAT, SAAB, SKODA, just to name a few. That is great examples of foreign cars that didn’t really make it.

    The main focus should now be stabilizing back malaysia economy and currency, and not spend more on something that is of a wish list. Probably when everything seems ok and our financial position is better then the government can look back into this.

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  • We’d been paying lots of money just to protect the silly Proton of yours in the past years hust so you could see it survive. All those extra fees and charges could just be scrapped and put into other projects like bio tech or advanced plantation programmes. Why have another national car brand when your citizens are struggling to feed their family?? A 1000 salary job still exists in our country sir, and an average room rental is 400/month. What we need is help not your pitiful vision of another car brand.

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  • roti canai on Jul 18, 2018 at 1:19 am

    i quote what a senior drb hicom worker said: when proton was still owned by drb hicom, non malays were not allowed to enter. full of young but lazy malays who refused to work. scolding wont work, need to pamper them with meals to get them to work. how to build cars of international standard?

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  • Nurul WAJ on Jul 18, 2018 at 1:22 am

    proton did so poorly in sales and shove the excess units to taxi companies forcing them no alternatives for reliable and comfortable cars to transport passengers local or foreign. crappy car makes a cranky driver, bad repo snowballed and now the whole industry is at extinct. many good businessman are buried in debt when e-hailing came about and no assistance given at all to compete at par with good service and good car.

    on the other hand, more local engineering resources were sought for since years back, so naturally students sign up with an outlook of a better future. unfortunately only ended up with high student debt and not an ecosystem that support their creativity to push boundaries and create good quality products we can all be proud of. that sense of pride that the asian giant such as Japan and Korea has in abundance are lacking here in Malaysia from the top trickling to the commoner.

    nation is build by a vision first, yes. but the execution is far more important and we failed to institutionalise to make it resilient regardless who is at the top. private industries should be allowed to move without interventions from politicians nor government, just need clear and fair policies to be drafted in considering all stakeholders. that seems to be too much to handle when corruption of various degrees are widespread and any brave souls standing up against the perpetrators are just buried alive.

    i think we should stop the drama of misfortunes and dwelling into the past too much. let’s just get on with the plan. there are so much to do to just play catch up.

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  • Vincent Cheong on Jul 18, 2018 at 3:59 am

    Tun, if your vision to have 2nd national car than it will materialize if it is not wholly for bumiputra to run the company. It must not have quota of how many bumiputra must be hired. We have to hired those talents of all race to share the dream of 2nd national car. Then it is preferable an electric car. Malaysia can produce anything if the team of development must consist of all races equally. And we able to compete globally and go for awards. Bcos of previous govt only focus given majority job to bumiputra, we have lost many talents from other races. I believe we can produce a global competitive 2nd national car, if we have the whole team consist of all races equally. I am not racist but i believe if we of all races share the talent, ideas, creativity than we can produce a world class national car. Thank you Tun for your time to read my opinion. Wish you all the Best Tun.

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  • I could think of several things they can try.
    Instead of trying to make a mass market product first, try the tesla approach. Invest and make a flagship model first to garner hype and attention.
    Or, try capture a niche market (cheap and good manual sports car anyone) to build the brand. They already have capability by using ex proton/lotus engineers.

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  • We don’t care milo or Nescafe got sst or paying 6% in fancy restaurant. What can’t digest why you want add 10% on car price when you already make up to 300% of actual car price in the name of excise tax. What more worst then evar national car also need to paye exice tax to protect national car which technically not Malaysian car anymore. Because of taxes we need to buy 15k kia picanto at price of 50k that why produa make shit car like viva with no safty at all and sale more expensive then picanto price all over the world. And that why wee need to buy second hand used car from Japan and Europe. While car dealers in here they know we payed 3times more then all over the glob still can’t bring latest tech they have in Malaysia.

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  • Malaysian do always have good idea and policy.
    Such as NEP and Proton. But why it always fail finally or not on PAR?
    What Malaysian judge? If not mistaken, the policy executor and management always fail to deliver. They techniques use and employ by them is deviating the original principle and bias it to hold them in a good position for OWN benefits (cronyism) rather than nation interest. What ever project such as new national car must have check and balance policy. Deviation in good policy execution shall hold NO excuse. People support if it is plan out carefully. The education, understanding of policy motive, objective is key, execution and realizing it effectively for competition.
    Malaysian environment now is in cronyism state. It is not only restricted to government but this symptom do spread towards private sector. Time will tell , can Pakatan hold the principle, are Malaysian willing to work together and strive forward? The CAR project will bring good benefits to the Nation if it is executed according to principle that make the industrial competitive.

    Plan out carefully, set policy to be competitive, rectify/ study Proton success and failure, in corporate tools/method to rectify potential future problem, constantly check and balance policy shall be executed with courage and without fear.

    Malaysian will support you. TUN DR. MAHATHIR

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  • Anonymous on Jul 18, 2018 at 12:05 pm

    This ridiculous. Becoming a car manufacturer in this day n time u cannot look at Toyota, Honda or Nissan… u need to look at Tesla, Think, Fisker, BYD, Wheego Elect. They r sloooooowly climbing but that is the reality. Don’t want nor need another bread store.

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  • angeleyes on Jul 18, 2018 at 12:17 pm

    History repeats itself. If the manifesto Tun M said can’t be fully accomplished by PH, then we can assume the same reason will be used again and again if this national car project fails in the end. Though this planned to be done by private company, just look back at how much the govt under him spent $$$ to bail out those cronies before.

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  • JasmanLim on Jul 18, 2018 at 1:19 pm

    Why should Malaysia manufacturer cars?
    Neighbor countries with 100 millions population not willing to manufacture due to worldwide competitioness morever Malaysia cars are the most expensive in the world beside Singapore.
    Geeky SUv was sold in China for only less than RM60k, why in Malaysia need to priced closed to RM 100k,,,?

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  • johnnas on Jul 18, 2018 at 3:02 pm

    wait a minute….where’s the almighty john? has anyone seen him?

    DrM kecil hati sudah…hahaha…complete and run your party’s manifestos first la. Good job on the ‘house cleaning’ but Najib is still walking tall. If you have sufficient evidence, book straight away. No need wait la.
    Further, your SST had better not cause another tsunami to our wallets. PTPTN wise, u better find a way to recoup from those who are still earning 4k n below or there won’t be any funds left for our children.

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  • Jay Stevens on Jul 18, 2018 at 3:20 pm

    Well. As a Malaysian, we must support our PM all the way to achieve the new national car project. Malaysia should introduce the latest car technology to capture the market, locally and international too. Electric car for one. Why not, right ?

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  • Amran on Jul 18, 2018 at 3:30 pm

    No more national car tun M.. stop the cronies chain.. we rakyat just need affordable & safety car..

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  • Ahmoi on Jul 18, 2018 at 3:35 pm

    Perodua is the national car now.. proton or p3 can go to hell! Enough la..

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  • John Tan on Jul 19, 2018 at 6:29 am

    Don’t reinvent the wheel, car manufacturing is not high technology. What makes you think Proton can make a better engine, chassis and drive train than companies that have ben doing it for years like Honda and Toyota. Why spend your R & D money? Proton should look ahead and do electrified cars, where the industries has not matured.
    Singapore is now assembling Rolls-Rolls engines for aircraft, did Singaporeans invent the engine? No but the Singaporeans technicians now earns more than Proton Engineers and Designers because thats high technology. Singaporeans got no national car, so what? They are still better off than us.

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  • Emelyn on Jul 19, 2018 at 11:01 am

    Go ahead with 2nd national car, Tun. We believe in your vision!

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  • Malibu on Jul 19, 2018 at 11:45 pm

    One thing good abt proton is , ur ( perdana/ waja )design can last for 10 years !!!!

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  • Damian on Jul 20, 2018 at 5:14 pm

    Still dreaming? Will only support if the new manufacturer is independent and producing electric cars. In addition to this Tun need to ensure those Msian cars are sold to msian at cost

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