It is 30 years too late for Proton to regain our trust
Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s faux pas about Proton will make the national car company the butt of even more jokes, than before.
The former prime minister tried to convince us that Proton cars are good and used the Proton power windows argument to extol Proton’s virtues. Sadly, the harder he tried, the more desperate he looked.
Speaking to reporters at the Proton Centre of Excellence in Subang Jaya on Feb 20, Mahathir said, “Our (Proton) windows go up nicely and come down nicely. Now our car is as good as any imported car, but people are still not driving it.
“Believe me, Malaysian engineers have learnt a lot.
“Our engineers are just as qualified, and as skilful as engineers from other countries.”
On hand to brief Mahathir was the Proton chief technical officer, Abdul Rashid Musa, who oversees 20 local engineers, who develop engines, in conjunction with Lotus, and a British firm, Ricardo.
One disgruntled former Proton owner said, “The Malaysian engineers took 30 years to resolve the Proton windows. They (the windows) only have to go up and down. These windows don’t have to power the car, or navigate the driver to his destination. How difficult is that?”
Another critic said, “I suppose, it is better late than never. Are those English firms milking Proton? We’ve been talking about the power windows problem, for as long as Proton has been around.”
Another person said, “Open up the competition and get Proton to compete on a level playing field. Reduce the levies, the import tax, and the excise duties, which are imposed on foreign cars. Get rid of the protection tariffs, which only Proton enjoys. Then, see how Proton competes in the global market.”
Housewife Yati said, “Ooh, the irony. Centre of Excellence?”
Mahathir, who claimed that Proton had “improved”, did not elaborate on whether he meant improvements were in the car design, the supply of parts, the service provided, or in general.
He said, “Our problem is not the cars. Our problem is the people’s perception that Proton does not produce good cars.”
In part, he is right. In its heyday, the people who were promoting Proton were arrogant.
One mother said, “I was so proud of Proton and I wanted to support it. I should have known better. The Proton salesman promised the earth. They made me sign on the dotted line, but before the ink was dry, they disappeared and I could not find them, when things went wrong.”
A civil engineer said, “The cars are extremely fragile. Someone banged into my car, when I stopped at a traffic-light. I thought it was a minor prang, but the structural damage was severe. Did I get help from Proton? No. They didn’t want to know.”
A man who graduated in England said, “The Proton is cheaper in England than it is in Malaysia. To pass the stringent tests, if they are to be sold in Europe, many safety features have been installed. They are missing from the Malaysian models.
“The billions which were used to build and sustain Proton for decades, should have been invested in an efficient public transport system. At least when the public transport is down, one could blame the weather.
Who does one blame for Proton? Umno Baru? Mahathir? The Malays? The NEP?”
