Today, August 31, marks the 61st anniversary of the country’s freedom from colonialism. Much has happened in the six decades since we took those first, tentative steps that was independence. There have been plenty of ups and downs, laughter and tears, but we’ve walked every mile of all that together.
We won’t delve into the aspects of other things that have made us what we are, and there is certainly no shortage of magical moments and nostalgia in this regard, instead keeping things firmly centred from an automotive viewpoint, the topic closest to our hearts here at paultan.org.
It’s a passion that has been shared by all, really. Malaysians have always had a love affair with things four- and two-wheeled, of that there is no doubt; we live in a current time where more and more cars – and bikes – are being put on the road, born out of necessity for transportation as much as a representation of freedom in mobility. Fueled by this desire and adoption, the industry has seen some very memorable accomplishments in the years since independence.
The advent of Proton and Perodua are of course at the forefront, the first thing that springs to mind when the subject of the country’s automotive achievements are brought up. However, there are many other significant highlights that have helped put us at the forefront or well on the map, and these have ranged from Formula 1 to hybrid cars.
Indeed, there may be a lot of things that you may have forgotten, or perhaps weren’t aware of about Malaysia and its journey in the development of the automotive industry over the years, and so we’re highlighting 20 of these in a very special video in celebration of national day. All of us at paultan.org would like to wish all Malaysians a happy 61st Merdeka, and we hope you enjoy the video.
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Selamat Hari Merdeka!
Merdeka! Selepas 61 tahun, Rakyat merdeka!!
Interesting how the article title clearly mentions 61 years of Merdeka yet to you its not even 1 year of Merdeka. Trying hard to fool urself, r u?
Interesting how your comment is evidence of failure to comprehend or is just plain disingenuous. Who are you trying to fool?
Nope. Even a 3 year old kid can tell u MY alredi 61 years of Merdeka. U telling me u know less than a 3 year old kid? Why fool urself?
John, MY as it exists has only been a country from 1963 – 55 years. Don’t push your neo-colonialist agenda on the East Malaysians and try to fool them. Are you telling me you know less than a 3 year old kid? You’ve certainly admitted it. So stop trying to fool people here. Go preach to your own crowd. Learn your history first.
This is our first Merdeka with a clean Government. We all sudah Merdeka from 63 years of corruption
most bolahland forget or dont know that we have 2 more bolehland car brand..TD n Bufori
inokom. and dong feng tuah
We got many brands but only one brand already makan more than RM20 billion of rakyat money and yet, we sold 49.9% of this company for RM170 million
Australians did all the work lah. Then Malaysia and Proton syiok sendiri.
Thanks Team PT!
Happy 61st Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka !
great video done by Paul Tan. Should also show how we Malaysians have overpaid for our cars since Merdeka
In the 80s cars were so affordable to Malaysians. But now, our income does not commensurate with the high price of cars.
Also, in the 80s, (1985)a brand new Toyota Corolla cost only RM20k. Today, it has gone up 700% to RM139k
The same Toyota Corolla in Japan has only gone up 50% in price from 1985 to 2018.
50% in Japan but 700% in Malaysia.
Selamat Merdeka for Malaysian, stop the racist.
Selamat merdeka to everyone in paultan.. You guys missed out that amim plant in shah alam did assemble British Leyland such as mini and. allegro, as well as the Honda Legend model code ka7, also know as Acura Legend, was assembled In Kah Motor plant in Johor, during the 1990s..
very informative, presented in trilingual, indeed a great way to celebrate hari merdeka. kudos to paultan team.
Selamat hari kebangsaan!
Sam Loo, Toyota also no sales edi.
And once Proton-Geely new models come in, Toyota can balik Japan already.
Wrong Tokmoh. Do you know that Proton Sales, Toyota Sales, Mazda Sales will improve soon. Once Proton-Geely new models come in and once new CKD TNGA (Toyota New Global Architecutre) Toyota Camry, CKD TNGA Toyota CH-R launches as well as once new UMW Toyota Bukit Raja Factory opens, many thousands people will buy Toyota, Proton, Mazda as well as Perodua so Honda can balik Japan already kerana Honda Assembly Quality is very terrible which install all the fake parts for Honda models and Honda Service Center is very terrible as well. Not only that, current and new facelift Honda design looks very outdated and ugly. Moreover, even Honda design including upcoming Honda Accord design looks like donkey design and ugly.
The Blue Saga carry a ‘Miri’ plat number! Yeah…
Independence achieved in 2018. Now we can be great….
Achievement? Got…. from rebadging japanese to Asia’s BMW to mitsu again, honda, suzuki… then only compare itself with continental brand . Then jatuh standard to China made now.
P2 is always jaguh kampung
P1 is jaguh tumpang glamour… kan dah kena…hahaha you asked for it.
Toyota oso tumpang glamour what. Tumpang glamour Mazda, Subaru & BMW
Excellent informative video. I think Tan Chong Motors should have been spoken about too, one of the pioneers of our automotive scene. Nonetheless, Happy Merdeka!
it’s not 61st merdeka, that’s why it’s called hari kebangsaan!
Great work making this Merdeka video ! A lot of interesting facts and trivia ! I hope it’s okay if I share some extra few points and corrections for the benefit of others ;
Point no.1 (Ford plant) – Yes, this one is true, the first proper CKD car plant in Southeast Asia (Ford Malaya plant) was built in Singapore, in 1941. When Singapore was part of Malaysia (1963-65), Ford Malaya changed its name to Ford Malaysia (not to be confused with the Shah Alam Ford plant). Then, in 1967, the Volvo plant in Shah Alam (Swedish Motor Assemblies) and Fiat plant in Johore (Kilang Pembena Kereta-Kereta) were both completed. Supposedly, the Fiat plant commenced production three months BEFORE the Volvo plant, but the Volvo plant was inaugurated (officially ‘opened’) nine days BEFORE the Fiat plant.
So then, which plant is the ‘first’ car plant in Malaysia ? Is it the Ford plant in Singapore (1928), Volvo plant in Shah Alam (1967) or Fiat plant in Johore (1967). Who knows, there is no definite answer.
Point no.2 (Volvo plant) – Also related to Point 1 above. But this point needs a correction; the Shah Alam plant was NOT the first Volvo plant outside Sweden. Volvo’s first non-Swedish plant was built in Halifax, Canada in 1963. The second foreign plant was built in Ghent, Belgium in 1965. Malaysia is the third foreign country to get a Volvo plant in late 1967. However, we were the first in Asia, ahead of Thailand (1976) and China (2013).
Point no.5 (New Myvi) – The ‘99% Malaysian designed Myvi’ claim comes from Perodua. This claim is widely disputed. Everyone knows that the new Myvi is powered by Toyota Group engines, and is built on a modified Toyota Group platform, and enhanced with Toyota Group technologies. Yes, Perodua designed the body-in-white and interior, but Perodua still hasn’t developed their own engines or platforms. Proton is way ahead of Perodua in that aspect.
Point no.6 (Proton-Malaysia 11th car-making country) : To be fair to Perodua, the claim where Proton made Malaysia the ’11th country with the ability to design cars from scratch’ is also very dubious. Proton made this claim some 15 years ago, during the ambitious, but rubbish Mahaleel era. The 10 countries which precede Malaysia are as follows (not ordered); U.S., U.K., Sweden, USSR (Russia), Germany, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Australia … and then Malaysia. The countries which have since joined the club; India and China. The countries which have joined and left; Czech Republic, Poland, Spain, Netherlands, Turkey.
Also, the Proton Waja platform was NOT developed by Proton; it is a modified Mitsubishi Carisma platform, which was co-developed with Volvo (for their original S40). Proton got German company EDAG to modify the Carisma/S40 platform for the Waja, and as far as I know, Proton never admitted this. Also, the early Wajas came with Mitsubishi engines (and gearboxes). So no, the 2000 Waja can’t be labelled as the first truly homegrown Proton. The 2004 GEN-2, most definitely; everything from the styling, BIW, interior, platform and engine were made by Proton together with Lotus. Only the gearbox was a Mitsubishi design, although Proton wanted to make their own gearboxes too (but ultimately never did).
Point no.9 : This one is true, Cycle & Carriage assembled the W126 SEL at the Oriental Assemblers plant in Johore. At the time, the SEL was the most expensive car ever to be assembled in Malaysia. Since then, DaimlerChrysler Malaysia (now known as Mercedes-Benz Malaysia) had broken that record with their RM 1 million HICOM Pekan-assembled V221 S-Class.
Point no.13 (TVR and Lotus CKD Malaysia) – Yes, this fact is not very well known, but it’s 100% true. In the late 90s, Proton assembled a few Elise cars at their Shah Alam plant. Around the same time, TVR also built a few Chimaera models near Port Klang. When the 1997 financial crisis hit, nobody had the money to buy sports cars (even CKD sports cars), so both Lotus and TVR local assembly ended after just a few years. The TVRs were unique, because they used advanced lightweight composite materials which no other car plant in Malaysia used. There is a photo of Dr. M driving a Malaysian-built TVR somewhere online. Supposedly, the Malaysian-built TVRs were more reliable than the British ones; apparently, because they had better cooling systems. Some were even exported from Malaysia back to Britain and elsewhere.
Point no.14 (TD Cars and Bufori) – I am not sure if TD Cars are still active, but Bufori certainly are. Bufori is one of the most underrated car companies in Malaysia. Bufori had a lot of success with exports, but because the MAA and even MITI doesn’t care for niche players, Bufori is rarely mentioned in any media reports. Shame.
Point no.15 : Yes, several local plants (AMIM, KPKK, CMA/GMM, CM/ASSB, SMA) used to assemble all kinds of Western car brands like Austin, Morris, Chrysler-Rootes, Holden, Ford (Australia), Vauxhall, Opel, Fiat, Alfa, Chevrolet (Canada) etc.. When the Japanese cars came around the 60s, the Western brands slowly faded into obscurity. But now, in the 2010s, Western brands are witnessing a resurgence.
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Anyway, just wanted to add on more info for those who are curious to know more Malaysia’s little but commendable achievements in the big and unforgiving global auto industry. Selamat Hari Merdeka to everyone ! On to Wawasan 2020 !
The imminent rise of Middle Kingdom.
Maxus, Borgward, Geely, Haval
Don’t forget the unforgettable name ‘Dongfeng ‘! Lmao:)
to owner of caterham mr tony fernandes, please lobby the goverment and make your caterham malaysia road-legal as in UK. if i am not wrong even the cheapest caterham of yours will have monstrous power to weight ratio akin to bugatti veyron, and yet it is very reasonbly priced (at least in UK).