PETALING JAYA: Though Proton is now managed by the Chinese company Geely, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad wants Malaysians to participate in the supplying and manufacturing process.
During a press conference on Monday (June 25) evening, the 93-year-old shared that he said this to a Geely official during his meeting with representatives from DRB-Hicom and Geely Group at his office on Friday (June 22).
In a tweet made from his @chedetofficial Twitter account on Monday, it was explained that the meeting was held to discuss the direction of Proton as an automotive company.
“Tun Dr Mahathir was also given the chance to personally drive the Proton SUV that has not been launched yet,” added the posting.
Dr Mahathir also complimented the quality of the vehicle that he test drove on Sunday (June 24) during his meeting with the press.
“I found the quality to be very high, and I think it is a good car for the market,” he said.
On Friday, Malaysiakini had reported that the premier had met with tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, DRB-Hicom Bhd group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Syed Faisal Albar Syed Ali Reza Albar and a top official from China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd.
In June 2017, DRB-Hicom Bhd inked a deal to sell a 49.9% stake in Proton Holdings Bhd to China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group for a total of RM460.3mil.
In a blog post on chedet.cc on May 25, 2017, the former Proton Holdings chairman had said that the acquisition was akin to him “losing a child”.
Proton, set up in 1983, is a brainchild of Dr Mahathir during his first 22-year premiership.
However, it had suffered severe losses over the previous years.
Proton had received RM1.5bil in government aid in 2016 on condition that it pursue a turnaround plan and seek a foreign partner.
Putrajaya had argued that it was necessary to sell off stakes in Proton in order to reduce losses incurred by the national carmaker.
Speaking during a dialogue at the 24th Nikkei Conference on the Future of Asia on June 11 this year, Dr Mahathir had said the new government is thinking of starting another national car company, perhaps with an Asian country such as Thailand, South Korea or Japan as a partner.
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