Mahathir: Only the people can help Proton, not gov’t
The people can forget about the development of engineering capability as government policy now is to encourage imports “as it has no pride in national products.”
(FMT) – Former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has clarified in his latest blog posting that he was not sacked as chairman of Proton but left on his own accord for various reasons. “I decided for the sake of Proton that I should leave.”
“This is because Proton seems to be having difficulty with the government and for some unknown reason, sales of Proton cars have plummeted. Proton is not a GLC but a private company.”
He added that he knows that he’s persona non-grata with the government and does not want to be the cause of Proton’s regress because of his presence. “I would still like to see Proton recover and do well.”
The former Prime Minister, in commenting on his resignation, felt that he owed Proton owners and buyers reasons why he resigned as chairman of Proton.
Mahathir pleaded with Proton owners and buyers to continue to support the national car although he was no longer the chairman. “Don’t take it out on Proton. I still wish to see it succeed and recover. So, please continue to support Proton.”
“Only Proton owners and fans can help it. So, please help Proton, your national car maker. It cannot expect any help from the government. Previously, the government policy was to encourage local content.”
The government, charged Mahathir, has no pride in national products. “We can forget about the development of engineering capability as our policy now is to encourage imports. Imports are cheap and there are more consumers than producers.”
He made two key points in his blog posting.
Firstly, Proton has great ideas in introducing new models of good quality. This month, the company will launch the new Perdana and later in the year, the new Persona and Saga.
Secondly, he said, Proton has paid more to the government than the government to Proton. “The government claims to have provided grants, various forms of assistance as well as tax foregone to the tune of about RM13.9 billion. Most of this is made up of taxes foregone.”
Total contribution by Proton to government since 1985, said Mahathir, came to RM24,905 million viz. excise duty from 1985 onwards RM11,785 million; sales tax from 1985 onwards RM9,470 million; corporate tax from 1985 onwards RM1,410 million; import duty from 1985 to 2008 RM1,403 million; and GST from April 1 last year RM28 million. “The total comes to RM24,095 million. Clearly, Proton has paid more to the government than the government to Proton.”
Other details provided by the former Proton chairman cover seed funds, plants, jobs and vendors.
Apparently, the company has repaid the RM400 million seed money it obtained from the government through two funds. It fully funded the RM1.8 billion Tanjung Malim Plant from its internal coffers which at that point had a staggering RM4 billion, it provided jobs for about 12,000 workers at any one time directly, and more than 250,000 souls indirectly, it reduced the outflow of funds amounting to more than RM100 million and the vendors also created jobs and reduced outflow of funds.