Let's review national status of Proton and MAS, says PAC chairman

The Pulai MP said that this was to ensure that these national entities, both supported by public funds, would be more competitive in their respective industries.

“Proton has had 30 years and we have not seen its success. MAS saw some success but that was some time ago.

“Now is the time where we see whether we continue these as national companies without thinking about the costs, and the adequate funding required,” Nur Jazlan told reporters at the sidelines of a forum on Goods and Services Tax (GST) here on Wednesday.

Nur Jazlan also commented on the appointment of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the new chairman of Proton, saying that the move would definitely increase the country’s pioneer carmaker’s morale and in terms of strategy,

“But Proton has many staff. We don’t know if one man can turn the company around in the long term given the competitiveness of the industry,” he said.

Yesterday, Dr Mahathir’s appointment was confirmed, a move that is said to be DRB-Hicom Bhd's boldest in its effort to transform Proton's sliding fortunes since it took the company private in 2012.

Dr Mahathir was involved in Proton’s inception since 1983 and is the current advisor to the country's pioneer carmaker since retiring as Prime Minister in 2003.

At its peak, Proton, which had produced more than 3.5 million vehicles from its plants in Shah Alam, Selangor, and Tanjung Malim, Perak, held up to 85 percent of the domestic car market.

However, a combination of factors including liberalization of the domestic market with the influx of cheap foreign imports, competition from Perodua and the revised National Automotive Policy, among others, contributed towards Proton's slide.

Recently, Nur Jazlan had called for the government, through its investment arm Khazanah Nasional Bhd, to rethink the MAS’s position and review the National Aviation Policy.

He suggested MAS could be taken private either through private investors or mergers, to revamp its management style that is largely seen as the reason for its decline.

Khazanah is MAS’s largest shareholder as the company has continued to struggle with its finances, and increasingly so after the missing flight M370 saga.

MAS share prices has dropped to 21 sen compared to RM8 in 1994.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had in a recent interview with Wall Street Journal, said bankruptcy might be one of the options to restructure the national carrier.