Mahathir and the national car
(Malaysian Chinese News) – Former Prime Minister Mahathir urged those who criticized the quality of Proton cars to try the new Proton models to see the difference between the old and new.
Mahathir had already resigned as the chairman of Proton Holdings and he has nothing to do with the company any more. However he still loves Proton very much. Why?
Until today Mahathir still does not seem to understand why the public continues to criticize Proton cars and the national automobile project.
Firstly most of the people who criticized the quality of Proton cars are owners of the new Proton models. Their opinions differed greatly from that of Mahathir’s on the quality of the cars, thus they could not help but start criticizing.
The main reason for the public outcry was Mahathir ignored experts’ advice when setting up the national automobile factory. The move forced the public to fork out unreasonable high prices in purchasing cars which added to their financial burden.
Quality of national car is inferior to foreign car
During the early 80s, 1500cc Japanese cars irrespective of any brand cost less than RM20,000, but when Malaysia launched the national car, the price of foreign cars from Japan, Europe or America increased by few folds. Consequently the public was forced to purchase the cheaper national car. After purchasing the car, they found that the quality was inferior to foreign car and it was not worth the money. Hence consumers vent their anger at the national car project.
Why is Mahathir so stubborn and insisted on launching the national car project? Pro- Barisan Nasional blogger Lim Sian See disclosed, “Mahathir’s friends became rich through contracts of supplying Proton products.”
Besides that all the Proton distributors and maintenance agencies have close relationships with Mahathir so much so that these suppliers and distributors will support Mahathir fully. Even though Mahathir had retired from office, his political influence is still strong. No wonder until today Mahathir still maintains his support for the national car.
