Prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said that the government could impose new conditions on imported vehicles in order to prioritise local brands, multiple news sources including The Sun and Malay Mail reported today. The 93-year-old premier claimed that the previous administration had allowed too many foreign vehicles to enter freely without any restrictions, including those of dubious quality.
“We are now very open to accepting foreign brands,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat in response to a query from Ayer Hitam MP Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong about the proposed third national car project. “All cars, even those that are made out of “tin Milo,” are being allowed into Malaysia. But our cars are finding it hard to penetrate many other countries.”
Mahathir added that these relaxed conditions for imports have stunted the growth of the local automotive market, while national carmakers have found it difficult to penetrate other countries due to their own restrictions. “There are a number of factors that had made it difficult for Proton to penetrate the foreign market, which includes strict terms, conditions and policies that have been set by other developed countries.
“That is why we must review the possibility that certain conditions be imposed so that foreign-branded cars won’t make it to our shores that easily,” he said. “And this will give the opportunity for our local cars to enter into our automotive market.”
It should be noted that Malaysia already has a very strict Vehicle Type Approval (VTA) process ensuring that new vehicles for sale to the general public are of a certain safety standard. In recent years the Road Transport Department (JPJ) has ramped up the number of UN-compliant regulations as part of the World Forum for Harmonisation of Vehicle Regulations (WP29), which features 133 regulations in total.
As of 2015, the government had already gazetted 77 of these regulations for VTAs, including ECE R94 (40% front overlap crash testing), ECE R95 (side impact crash testing), ECE R66 (bus, coach and truck superstructure strength and roll-over testing) and ECE R43 (safety glass installation and testing). The agency had then aimed to enforce a total of 126 regulations by 2020.
The Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) also spearheaded the New Car Assessment Programme for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP) to promote safer cars in the region. The government’s efforts are telling, as there isn’t a zero-star car (at least those that have been tested) on sale in Malaysia, and only a single one-star car – the previous-generation Hyundai i10, which dates back to 2012. All other cars tested that are currently on sale in Malaysia are rated four stars or above.
So, what do you think – should the government roll out new restrictions on foreign vehicles, or are current regulations enough to keep out the “tin Milo” vehicles Mahathir is talking about? Sound off in the comments section after the jump.
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Hello Tun, the only Tin Milo is Proton. Other brands all good quality.
Also, Malaysians have suffered enough with Proton and its protectionism. Because of Proton, all car prices have gone up 800% since 1985.
For example, Toyota Corolla in 1985 was RM20k. Today, in 2018, the Toyota Corolla is RM139k
The same Toyota Corolla in Japan has only risen 50% from 1985 to 2018.
50% vs 800%
Our Tun is proven right again. Pipu shud buy P1 becoz its safer, modern HPF Protons got immense rigidity. Pipu still hadap Hondas…
Eh.. didn’t realise PPBM has started hiring cyber troopers.
Honda is Tin Milo.. somehow they can sell bucket loads in other countries. I wonder where Proton is? Owh yea, the whole world is against Proton and doesn’t allow their cars to be sold there..
Tun, the rakyat voted for lesser taxes,not the other way round.
If u still want to burden us voters,the RAKYAT SHOULD JUST buy used cars and see protong and perodua and PROTIGA all kaput.
Dont betray voters just to put your next national car project upfront and satisfy an inflated ego.It is an anti climax to all PH’s promises.This effectively opens a can of worms for Zahidkor to hentam PH.
The majoriti Msians in general gotta be way more patriotik. beli lah Proton.
I like Proton cars. They are strong.
Koloss P1 & retrench all. Fullstop
Still sapot him? Lolz!
MY sapot Proton! Lolz!
Nowadays toyota also look like tin milo quality….
No no no! Toyota is nowadays like tissue quality.
Its inflation. kfc snack plate in 1985 was only around MY$4 or less. The same snack plate in 2018 is RM13.70…
In USA, a brand new toyota corolla was sold at USD19520 in 1988. A brand new 2018 toyota coralla is selling at USD18700. Agree that inflation & currency conversion played a role in the price of Malaysian cars but the main culprit was the TAX imposed by the government since Tun’s era and this is Deja Vu
Because of automation and economies of scale, car prices have gone down the past 30 years. But only in Malaysia, it has gone UP UP UP
come on tun… jangan baik ke era 80an lagi..
come on tun… bawak anwar balik cepat..
Plz dun be kuku besi Tun. Restrict on china cars can lar. But not on top brand like toyota honda mitsu. And its not abt imported car freely came in that make local car have bad sale, but only p1 to be honest. P2 sell well what, top sales whole mesia n beats all other brand. It is abt…something wrong in p1 that make people dun wanna buy it, plz dun blame the people n imported car. Plus its people’s choice also wat brand they want. Even if u sell brand new perdana for 50k, but my mindset still want altis 120k, i still go for altis, depend on people’s interest. And some people even they afford a ferrari but they still go for myvi. P1 problems not come from the people ya, there is something wrong in p1 that mske people dun want it, u must figure it out 1st. Jz saying.
Come on la old man, everyday dreaming to export proton, no other country wants your lousy proton. They rather buy cheap low end toyota or daihatsu built for 3rd world country, just look at indonesia. The problem here is the BRAND perception. Nobody wants to pay 40k for a lousy proton brand. However , this is different if the item is just rm 1-2k, like china smartphone.
With all dude respect this man has no idea what he is taking about. I think he is still stuck in the 80s, it’s all well and good to promote local products but those products also need to be worth spending our hard earned money on. Let him and his family pave the way by driving only Protons.
i 1001% agree on you.. i think even their son never drive a proton…believe it!
I believe he is refering to the poor quality cars that are starting to flow in from China over the past few years, especially the commercial vehicles.
Toyota had to axe its Hiace due to this. Even the locally assembled lorries lost a huge market share to China made trucks.
Also if you noticed, most of the big lorry accidents due to brake failures or lost of control are of China brands….
Unless it’s a proven design issue else we shouldn’t link accidents to any brands. The driver and maintenance make a big part in accidents.
Also, consumers are not that naive to purchase something that is not worthy in a free market environment. If market is going for that product, that band is giving what ppl want. The results speak for itself.
Nothing wrong with imposing stricter requirements for imports for the sake of ppl’s safety. But not with a hidden agenda to boost local car by killing others that are better.
well say…
I agree on this.It’s those low quality cars that should be restricted.
Anyway Tun said that our local cars are stunted by other countries’ regulations but why does the big brands can sell globally but our proton cannot do so.That’s the question he need to ask first..
Poor quality brand from China? Which one?
must be Geely. or Haval. all hailat.
At least ,Better and safer than tin Milo Vios, peroduas and saga . My balls also drop driving these cars
So, how does this impact Proton? He wasn’t talking about Tuah was he?
Tun also have never been proud on P2 despite their good job and ability to prove P1 wrong.
Errr it is not the brand lah… it is the maintenance culture. Please take note, majority of all Express bus accidents involved buses from Japanese or European brand.
Please no more restrictions on foreign brands. Our local products still fail on a global scale plus one national make is now under a foreign brand so please, no restriction.
Tin Milo is Proton and Peradua.
Haiya both have 5 star cars, from which cave you crawl out again?
Proton is more solid. Perodua is even worse than milo tin. But engine and part wise, Perodua is better, and last longer.
ya 5 stars but with what kind certification? Euro NCAP or ANCAP or Asean ANCAP?
You could get 5 stars in one test certification but only 3 stars in another.
Euro NCAP is generally more stringent.
Well not all of the foreign cars (Honda/Toyota/VW etc) sold in Malaysia are the 5* EuroNCAP version of the model lol…most of em are downgraded version for our market hahaha
I agree with u bro..
P1 Aussie NCAP 5stars
Pretty sure all efforts done by jpj recently, and clearly written in the article contradicts whatever this old snake is saying
If Hyundai is Tin Milo. Proton is tin ovaltine
Both tin material 2×5. However local ckd perodua, honda, toyota= tin cola
Hyundai is a global brand – what is Potong and Beruk Tua?
Tun, I hope you meant on the safety level of foreign cars sold here..if yes, I sokong kasi up skit but harga turun murah la..
but if you’re talking about helping proton again..with all due respect, I no sokong this idea..learn from P2 why they can sell well..
This man is still stuck with is 80’s mentality and protectionism. He had not realized that time had moved on since he left office. We have to vote you out if you are still behind time with 80’s mentality. You should endeavor to make imported cars cheaper but not the other way around.
“So, what do you think – should the government roll out new restrictions….” NO, NO NO NO. Enough with the bloody restrictions. The Malaysian market is extremely intelligent, they buy the best deal. You wanna sell big, you offer the best deal. If another car company can sell a car better and cheaper than what you can produce locally, you dumb. Simple as that.
And Tun, stop pretending Perodua doesn’t exist.
Now please give this guy a cookie , best comment evurrrrr
Komen terbaikkk.. Betul2 Onz!!!
Because Perodua is a money maker machine for Japan.. sucking Malaysian money/blood..
Dear Tun M, if we are to attain international standard, we must open up our car industry to foreign competition :P
best is to allow or encourage all gud brands to assemble their cars here in Msia so that they can be export out. This will give Msian workers experience and thus high graded jobs. From Proton experience, its only draining our country’s reserve and V R not getting anywhere!
Aduhai, pemikiran masih terbelakang.tun cukup2 dgn idea lapuk itu. Kita nak maju ke depan bukan nak pandang ke belakang. Kereta import improve kualliti ttp kereta tempatan?.Hancus negaraku
Kualiti apa tu? Setakat design macam dugong Kelli ultraman kedai Sunway pun boleh bikin
His automotive trade policy is influence by Trump lately. Hammering those car export nation that has own restriction on P1/P2.
Tun is contradicting himself. He wants Proton to capture bigger local market and at the same time don’t want milo-tin car to enter local market. Proton is milo-tin lah.
So NCAP is tipu one ar?
Not sure if Ncap is tipu but damn sure who tipu Ncap with their FLX+++.
1 star for saga ncap tipu. Patut 5 star asean ncap
ohh dear, back to the 80s..
Proton=tin milo. Where hv you been old man. Name one foreign brand famous in Msia which are tin milo. None.
Ya…proton is tin milo but other jepunis celup brands are tin cola.
Nowadays rarely see Milo packed in tin. Milo now sold in packets which are recyclable. This talk is tahun 80-90’an.
or 3-in-1 sachet. nice.
if those car are tin kosong then u better give up your tiguan
proton cannot sell in malaysia or any other place on earth – its not our fault. instead of having 4 different segment models (Saga, Wira, C segment & MPV), proton had decided that every new model deserves a new name. and that include Waja, Gen2, Persona, Inspira, Preve, Savvy, Suprima, Iriz and Suprima.
and the range also was very inconsistent. Proton Waja had the the X (top of range) model and facelift known as EV (enhanced version). other Proton facelifts not known as EV anymore, instead many other names including FL and Bold. and for the past 5 or 6 years i think Proton totally forgotten to do faeclift.
just like what happened to Saga Mk.I (the 3rd facelift Iswara remained in showroom from 1992 until 2002) and Wira facelift (1995 until 2003).
this syiok sendiri attitude is what failing Proton. Malaysians are proud of Proton but we dont deserve the arrogant of your sales people and after sales service level (look at JD Power CSI scores for the past 10 years – proton bottom 3 every year).
all modern cars from japan and europe have tidy handling (not exactly balance ride, though) but proton cannot use that formula to sell cars anymore. proton wont change, and we malaysian wont change too.
Tak habis habis mimpinya, tin milo is proton!!
It should review the term and condition, as local we wish to support local brand, but need to consider in quality of product, after sales services provided. In term of quality of product, we believe Proton are good enough, but after sales will always change customer mindset if happened bad experience.
Technology can change in a day, how to catch up the latest technology to end user are very important, why ppl like continental vehicle rather that local or Japanese vehicle, as most of the continental vehicle are more safety compare to local or Japanese vehicle.
End user willing to pay more for safety instead of price war.
The last I check the cheapest car Tata Nano is never available here and it is for a reason isn’t it so please don’t speak for yourself Malaysia do have laws for car even scoring 0 Star NCAP safety.
Before that, please impose conditions on grey import cars same as officially-imported cars. There is no control of safety standard on grey import cars which can register without having to comply with strict VTA regulations
perodua will be the next target for being labelled as tin milo…..
Thailand with their much bigger population doesn’t have own national car, but automotive industry is so robust and active. Contribute so much to economic growth..Why bcos no NEP policy.
Yes Tun is absolutely right. Sales of foreign cars like Japanese and Korean brands are too cheap these days and because of this Proton suffered so much until it has to be sold to Geely. 30 years ago when car like Honda Jazz was sold for RM120k, Proton cars sales soar to the sky and many Malaysians bought proton cars because Japanese cars are too expensive. Tun should impose back the taxes on foreign cars so that Malaysians will be forced to buy proton cars. For example, Toyota Vios and Honda City should be sold for RM150k to deter buyers from buying foreign cars. If you sell Honda Accord and Toyota Camry at RM270k, people will definitely buy Preve and Perdana. This will drive up the sales for Proton and Proton will become number 1 again.
so says the person who says we have the cheapest cars in the world…..oooooh wai!
Restricting foreign cars competition in Malaysia will only cause Malaysian cars to become less quality. Instead what should have been done is increasing the quality and safety of local cars plus lowering the prices and allowing and creating more local brand cars. The more competition local brand gets the better it will be for Malaysians. Being a Proton user myself i have seen that local brands did not appreciate their customers as much as foreign brand does. A good example would be Proton Wiras. Even with a million plus users in Malaysia, the company decides to stop producing spare parts. So what does that say about the brand?
Every car manufacturer will stop production of spare parts after 20 years…..it happens to any car manufacturer not just proton
Sorry to say that Proton engine especially the S4PH Campro is a lousy engine. It runs sooo hot that you can bakar kambing 3 kali. Also its not refine and also fuel efficient compare to the respective top brands. Dont compare with China cars lah. How many of us did sample thier cars for 10 years ownership? Without a good engine and drivertrain, all Proton have is a body. Thats all. Throw away the engine and Punch gearbox. Give is something good at a reasonable price. Cheap does not always mean good and long lasting. We dont want that anymore. We want a Proton with Hyundai or Kia technology expertist already. If cannot deliver, then just shut up and dont ever bring this up.
But Proton Perdana is Honda engine.. U still didn’t buy
All engine have their optimum operating temp, don’t know where you got the info proton engine running too hot, all mpi vvt engine have relatively same efficiency as others, one that make slightly more efficient is due to a bit higher compression ratio, the highest I know for mpi engine is 11:1, so for Campro vvt the engine should have similar fuel efficiency as others, not that substantial but the only Achilles heel for proton line up is actually the weight of the car, maybe due to material selection driven by cost measured
I think Tun is right to issue and set the standard quality for safety of Malaysian.If the brands can pass the quality as set why are we so worried about Honda , Mazda or whatsoever …Tun did not say or mentioned these brand will be the victims. If Proton make tin Milo , other nation won’t accept …why would Malaysia.
Tun maybe is sinister in trying to create another Proton but in economical sense , we have no influence in any form of domination in heavy industrial growth in Malaysia. Long term we are losing a lot to other asia countries like india , japan , thailand and more. Manufacturing cars was easier as we already have the know how and setup.
I have been a proton user for the past 25 years
My last car was a Waja which used for 18 years. No problem except for the power windows
Last month taking advantage of the tax holiday l purchased a proton persona which if I maintain properly will last another 20 years. So tun is right. The local automobile industry should be protected
OMG, using Waja for 18 years? You should upgrade yourself or get a better paying job.
No safety fueatures waja loorr
Yes, export Proton to Japan and let Japan export Honda to Malaysia without restriction.
Which brand do you think the Japanese will buy, Proton or Honda? Which brand do you think Malaysians would buy, Proton or Honda?
I thought the TIN MILO cars are Made In Malaysia. Sorry, not belittling our country. I have one national car at home, car is fine but after sales & service sucks .or is he referring to Made In China cars?
As a previous owner of past Wira even the front indicator light casing can suddenly fdrop /come out when you suddenly take a turn.
This shows how bad the finishing parts quality use on Wira cars previously.
Even water seeping into the car boot especially the Wira aeroback version when it rains or washing the aeroback. Not knowingly the rear of the car becomes heavier and heavier each day until you discover a pool of water in the spare tire slot. Repair many times still Masuk water .
Hissing sound emerges from air cond vents when you drive above 90 km/HR.
Power window gave way many times due to PLASTIC strip holder snapping. Why use plastic and not use metal strip instead? Each time repair cost RM 150.
Then car roof sound emerges on and off. There is no welding only use EPOXY to join the section. Repairer told me EPOXY giving way cannot repair.
It was such an UGLY/BAD experience with this car that I never look back on any proton car purchase then shall be Tin Milo or Not.
It was such a horrible car despite a reliable engine match with a lousy unrealiable gearbox then
Let’s have open market, free of restrictions. Survival of the fittest. That’s the only way to progress & full the unproductive.
Molly coddling Proton was the reason why it failed, spectacularly !!!
We made a generation of shiok sendiri, village hero who thought the automotive world revolves around Proton. Not only did we NOT have economy of scale but the over ambitious village heroes thought the world would buy the outdated technology Proton churn out.
Let’s be honest, we’re no longer one of the Tiger Cub economy. China has now overtaken us, all in a span of 20 years. They can send a man into space, design and build aircraft carriers & submarines, design and build military and civilian jet aircrafts, design and build cars and trucks ….
At least today Geely-Proton can launch a new model every year, cheaper pricing than what the old Proton can do. Why??? They have the resources and economy of scale.
This Geely-Proton will spur the car industry here to better themselves. I foresee T-H-N et al to offer better products once they feel the heat from the new Proton cars. So even if you hate Proton, you too will benefit from it’s influence on the local car industry.
Can limit tun’s power ar? he keep wasting time on our national car. he should do other things better
How to limit when pipu alredi elected him to the throne?
I agree with our prime minister’s suggestion. We have cars that only come with 2 airbags & minus the autonomous emergency braking features which are becoming a must for nowadays traffic condition. They’re available elsewhere as standard equipment but omitted here in Malaysia on certain makes & models. For instance, Nissan Xtrail only comes with 2airbags here but in Singapore, it comes with 6 airbags. I dont mind paying a little bit premium for good safety features. It should be made mandatory to have atleast 6 airbags, ESP, ABS &Autonomous braking for all new cars on the road, as soon as possible.
Tun, cakap terus teranglah, you promise petrol will down toll will abolish, then what are you waiting for? Always take a nonsense reason to protect your proton son? Enoughlah, kwsp hold plus 49%, khazanah subsidiary UEM hold another 51%, then the toll who hold it? rakyat? Government hold it indirectly 100%, and compensation game is only left pocket to right pocket game, Tun, your is the 1 who created this, take care of rakyat is priority, I don’t care you BN or PH, if I not happy if your administration, I tumbang you next election.
Meanwhile, Tun M likes to drive his Porsche or Proton Perdana celup aka Honda Accord.
BTW, it is not fair for rakyat. Malaysian had supported proton for 30 years. I bought proton waja in 2010 which is actually came from year 2000 design. I tell you what. Proton still make the same shit of flaws and quality. But at that time i didn’t had a choice. A C segment car is really expensive. Even till today.
I hope Tun M enough with his car dream project. Proton already has their place. Now, please improve public transport.
Back to the old days of more expensive cars all around just to protect the cronies working on the local cars
Hmmmm……national car again , what next , national handphone national tv national washing machine and so on.
When great cars in other countries cost the same price as your Proton, why would they buy Proton?? I’d rather go for other brands when they’re so much better than Proton so don’t bother trying to export your national brand….
Proton and perodua shouldnt have exist in the first place.just look at their acbievement,they are lagging behind in terms of technology
Nyayuk
Yesterday once more, shoobee doobaba
10 years ago Proton said we have no time to hear about your complaint, we are producing thousands a day! Now we are facing Proton rebranded as Geely! We are proud with German’s car not because of Nadzi, but its quality!
Yang sy tau hanya Proton yg kualiti dia teruk sangat, beli kereta baru kena pi buat claim sampai malas nak pi Tun, jgn paksa rakyat pakai kereta auta Tun
Anyone been to south korea? Almost 90% of vehicles on the road are local made..
Seriously, it is not cheap to own a foreign made car if you compare to local made..
Just be frank la.. all of us just want to show off to ppl around us that we can afford higher price tag.. want to be differ from the rest..
South Korea transport network planning is way better than Malaysia.
Malaysia only plan the roads after buildings put up and not before that.
Land use transport generation model was never implemented in Malaysia , that why banyak sesat lalu lintas due to want to junk protons and peroduas at the expense of good public and efficient public transport.
This sort of mentality still persist until now despite new government but old person inside.
Why cannot sell to overseas? The quality of p1 is not even on par with the import cars, that is the reason why
If we want to reduce outflow of funds due to importing car then improve on public transportation. Many will not want to buy a car if public transportation is effective and affordable. After all, car depreciate like nobody business and difficult to find parking. But please dont waste money coming up with 3rd national car which cannot bring in foreign income. I still remember spending 80k+ (car value + loan interest) for a 1.6 Proton Wira 23 years ago. 23 years ago 80k was a lot of monies and I still feel it was a rip-off. To the younger generation, that was the price we old timer paid for having our National car. It would have been more beneficial to everyone as well as the country for not having that National car and sticked to assembly of foreign cars. Please do not let the Rakyat pay big money for not up-to-mark cars again. I respect and envy yr intelligence but sorry that I cannot agree with you on this one.
PLEASE IMPROVE PUBLIC TRANSPORT ESPECIALLY FEEDER BUS SERVICES , SCHEDULE AND CONNECTING ROUTES FOR WORKING PEOPLE.
WE ALREADY HAD ENOUGH OF TRAFFIC JAMS WITH FRUSTRATION AND DO NOT NEED ANOTHER THIRD NATIONAL CAR ANYMORE !! PERIOD..
PLEASE WAKE UP FROM YOUR DREAM INTO REALITY ..UNLESS THIRD NATIONAL CAR IS MEANT FOR EXPORT ONLY ( NOT NEEDED FOR LOCAL USE)
Good idea, Tun Mahathir. We must find ways to ensure that Proton will capture the highest market share in Malaysia. It is also good that Malaysia produces its own smartphone with its own OS. When we have our own smartphone brand, we can impose the highest tax for foreign smartphone brands.
It is quite pathetic to see our generation not enthusiastic enough on developing own industry and technology. Everyone has ‘Najib’ kind of mentality. Import, import, import.
The other mentality we young generation has is is ‘Rosmah’ mentality. Buy expensive foreign goods as first priority. Foreign good is better according to this ideology.
We all need to change. We need to learn to gain on technology. Lets trust our own capability.
I dont mind at all. But it must have something that few brands in malaysia have. We need electric cars. They also need to have serious quality control. Many of the japanese cars are real sh*t!! This malaysian car has to beat up all of that. Then it may sell pretty well. It must stand out. FSP MUST BE GERMAN NOT JAPANESE!!! LIKE VW! Way better than toyota.