Motoring expert responds to Dr Mahathir's fears about Proton

In an article published on careta.my, Hezeri Samsuri said that by doing so, the automotive ecosystem would become even bigger, and Malaysians could reap the benefit from that.

"Proton might not be as big as we hope but because of Proton, we have created something even bigger. The automotive ecosystem is a lot bigger than Proton and offers more opportunities to more Malaysians," he said.

The article was in response to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's views on his blog which, among others, lamented that "Proton is to be sold to foreign companies".

Dr Mahathir opined that "once Proton is sold to foreigners it will cease to be a national car" and "will just be producing foreign cars in Malaysia".

Hezeri countered that even if there was a partner who held substantial shares in Proton (the company), he did not believe that it would be the worst thing ever.

He explained that to get a Foreign Strategic Partner or FSP was not an easy thing to do and nobody wanted to give up on something they had developed on their own for free.

"You need a carrot to dangle and in current Proton scenario, I believe it has gone so bad that we need a big carrot to offer," he said.

Hezeri also posed a question mark on a number of Proton-linked initiatives like the Electric Vehicle and Proton Emas projects as well as Lotus.

He went on to say that Dr Mahathir should have been more proactive in helping Proton during its heydays, like how the South Korean government did when Hyundai and Kia wanted to go into the American market.

He claimed that what happened to Proton back then was the opposite, with national events using Proton as their cash sponsor because "it is the easiest method in getting money".

"Right now, to continue protecting Proton won't be a smart move. The response you get from Malaysians, in general, may not be good if we continue doing that," he said.