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Dr M denounces sale of Proton as the start of ‘the great sell-out’

KUALA LUMPUR — Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday (May 25) denounced the sale of national carmaker Proton to Chinese car-maker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, saying that this is “the beginning of the great sell-out” to save the country from debt.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he could not be proud of Proton’s future success because it would no longer belong to him or to Malaysia. Photo: Malay Mail Online

Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he could not be proud of Proton’s future success because it would no longer belong to him or to Malaysia. Photo: Malay Mail Online

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KUALA LUMPUR — Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday (May 25) denounced the sale of national carmaker Proton to Chinese car-maker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, saying that this is “the beginning of the great sell-out” to save the country from debt. 

He also likened the sale of his brainchild Proton to the Johor Sultanate giving Singapore to the British in 1819. 

“It will be like Singapore. Malaysians are proud of this great city-state. If it had not been sold, it would be, perhaps, as well developed as Kuala Kedah or Kuala Perlis. Then we cannot be proud of Singapore,” Dr Mahathir wrote in his blog Chedet.cc on Thursday. 

Kuala Kedah is a fishing port in the northern state of Kedah while Kuala Perlis is the second-largest town in Perlis, a state that borders Thailand. Both places are considered rural towns.

The former premier also said that while he was saddened and ready to cry over the sale of Proton, he expected Malaysians were happy to be rid of the “pesky car”.

The sale, he pointed out, will also see Proton having its cars sold all over the world. “Now we can be proud of Proton. With money and superior technology, it will compete with Rolls Royce and Bentley,” he wrote. 

But he added he could not be proud of Proton’s future success because it would no longer belong to him or Malaysia. “It is probably the beginning of the great sell-out. The process is inexorable,” wrote Dr Mahathir, who founded Proton Holdings in 1983 in a bid to turn Malaysia into an industrialised powerhouse.

“(By) no other way can we earn the billions to pay our debts. The only way is to sell our assets. And eventually, we will lose our country, a great country no doubt, but owned by others.” 

Dr Mahathir, who is now chairman of opposition party Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), has been critical of Putrajaya bringing in Chinese investors, a move he said would jeopardise Malaysia’s sovereignty. 

Chinese car-maker Geely will be taking a 49.9 per cent stake in Proton. 

The deal was announced on Wednesday, with Second Finance Minister Johari Abdul Ghani saying that Proton would remain a national car because Proton would still have a majority holding of 50.1 per cent. Proton dominated the domestic market with a 74 per cent marketshare at its peak in 1993, but has seen that share dwindle to around 15 per cent currently because of low-quality cars, poor after-sales service and tough competition from foreign car-makers. Proton’s first sedan was called the Saga, an icon of “national dignity”.

With sales flagging, the Malaysia government stepped in last April to make a RM1.5 billion (S$486 million) loan to the carmaker, allowing it to avoid defaulting on obligations to suppliers. The agreement came with a rider that Proton find a major new investor to put it on a more sustainable financial footing.

It was reported that Geely was expected to offer Proton, controlled by Malaysian tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary’s DRB-Hicom, some vehicle technologies in order to grow its sales overseas and to recover some of the global presence Proton had lost in recent years. AGENCIES

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