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Yoursay: Dr M, give up on your obsession with national car project
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YOURSAY | ‘M’sia needs better public transport, not more cars on the road.’

With Proton gone China, Dr M gears up for new national car

Dr Suresh Kumar: I truly don't understand why Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad refuses to understand that a national car project would be a disaster. Haven't we learned our lessons from the Proton failure?

In the early 1980s, Japanese brands like Datsun and Toyota Corolla cost about RM15,000 to RM18,000, but when Proton was launched, the price of Japanese and continental cars increased threefold.

The public was forced to purchase the cheaper but inferior in quality Proton cars. Many experts, including Mahathir's own brother-in-law, advised him not to go ahead with the national car project, but he refused to listen to anyone.

In the end, who paid the price for it? And who became rich? Yes, we paid for it and his friends became rich through contracts of supplying Proton products, so did the distributors and maintenance agencies and cronies.

Despite the government's best efforts to prop up Proton, the project failed miserably and had to be bailed out multiple times.

With a high national debt and massive clean-up of the various government agencies and individuals on the cards, the work is already cut out for Mahathir and his team.

Can we afford another non-viable car project for a nation of 31 million people? I hope Mahathir in his wisdom gives up his obsession with the national car project and focuses on putting the country on the right track after years of abuse by the Umno/BN regime.

Annonymous: Those who do not remember their past are condemned to repeat their mistakes. Like Proton, this won’t be ‘our’ car. It will be Mahathir’s.

This will be another monument to personal greed and short-sighted ambition, with billions of the rakyat’s money thrown down the drain.

The country bled because of this wild project once. It was an epic failure. When any country relies on leaders from the past to fix problems they themselves created in the first place, the country is doomed.

Speak up, de facto Pakatan Harapan leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Anonymous_56644623: With traffic congestion perhaps the most pressing issue facing urbanites, what Malaysia needs is more efficient public transportation with wider coverage to reduce the number of vehicles on the road – not another vanity project that is doomed to fail.

And when sales go south, will we be forced to save the company with our money as we did so many times before?

Anonymous 2358871441592290: Yes, bad idea. It would have been better to stick with the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail and the MRT.

It would probably more efficient, cost less in the long run, and be better all round at the end with less pollution and less traffic.

Common Sense: What a horrific miscalculation by Mahathir. Bringing up a wildly unpopular issue just after several public transportation mega projects are cancelled. And giving fodder to Umno, just days before their party elections.

Mahathir, we overlooked what you had done to the country to get rid of Umno/BN. You may think we’re chumps for choosing you again for prime minister, as though the past didn’t happen.

But please don’t overestimate our goodwill.

Anonymous 1802761448130592: Despite government support, Proton has never done well. I sincerely hope Mahathir will not waddle into the same sinkhole and swallow up our precious national financial resources.

I will not buy any national car again. It's not that I am unpatriotic, but my past experience with Proton only proves we are not good in making cars. Proton struggled for decades. Do we want to repeat the same mistake?

Clever Voter: The failure of the auto industry is not because it received too much government support, but because the country has not got what it takes to compete in the global market.

You need a market to begin with, and the capabilities that will include innovation, expertise, knowledge and supply chain of varied components.

The argument that Asean provides a ready market is a fallacy. Since its inception, there has been no one integrated Asean product that we can think of. The region has diverse markets at different developments, and it is more of a trading community rather than a community of common interests.

Mahathir's interest in the auto industry is a personal one, but he will not get the buy-in from his colleagues. There is no necessity to kick a big fuss, as it is a no-brainer that another auto business similar to the Proton model will work.

However, Mahathir may have in mind of a model that leverages the expertise of current Japanese manufacturers already in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia to assemble an ‘Asean model.’ But again, this is more about ego than it is a sound business decision.

Anonymous_f8b869d4: Indeed, car manufacturing is a cutthroat, hyper-competitive business. It is a business that Malaysia has no capacity for.

The design capability, technology development capability, reverse engineering capability, business focus and discipline capability are not what our workers have at the moment.

Previously the CEOs of Proton were appointed from the ranks of accountants who did not have any clue about making cars.

Or put it this way – Proton cannot even compete with a brand like the Shenzhen-based BYD Auto which sold over 500,000 cars in 2013.

The best way for the country is to provide competitive incentive for established car manufacturers to set up assembly plants in Malaysia for their regional market. Malaysia’s advantage from the 1980s still applies – we still have a better workforce who can speak a bit of English and sound infrastructure.

Anonymous_7b825f63: The car industry is moving towards electric, as well as self-driving cars. And that’s just the start. The industry as we know it will be changed forever.

Only a fool or genius would get into the market now. Which will we be?

Anonymous 1424351464403998: Okay, but let's make it an electric car instead. Many don't realise industries create jobs and give the country revenue.

Engineering capability is an important requirement to moving a nation forward. We should not be caught up in the present and forget about the future.

Mahu See Lui: Why the obsession with a national automaker that drains money like a bottomless pit? We don’t need it as we cannot compete with other manufacturers despite years of tariffs.

Spin Not: Yes, Proton 2.0, let’s go for it. Money is not a problem. Tabung Harapan Malaysia will come in handy, or we can set up another one called Tabung Proton 2.0.


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