Proton registered a pre-tax loss of RM620 million for the financial year ended 31 March 2007. Now THAT is the most annoying and disturbing thing next to the Sembilu movie series.
RM620 million is an obscene amount of money. We are not talking RM6 million. Not RM20 million. Not even RM100 million. But RM620 miilion of Khazanah’s money, which belongs to YOU when you pay your taxes!
Proton gave the 38% decrease in sales as reason for this huge loss. Accepted, but I believe there is more than that. With build quality being the endless issue, I believe there are people in Proton making extra income.
Of course, Khazanah is in talks, as we speak, with VW to find a strategic partner. Question is, does Proton really need a partner? What happened to Mitsubishi? And why VW? The last time Proton tried with Citroen, they ended up with the cheap Tiara with expensive maintenance that went obsolete the moment it left the showroom.
What a shame, because Proton, as proven by the Gen2 and Satria Neo, can stand alone without a partner, provided they solve all internal problems and quality issues. And stop making commercial mistakes. The Waja was a decent car, but they made a mistake by comparing it to BMW. Get this into your head, Proton – you can never beat BMW. It’s a fact even the Japanese have accepted. Swallow it and move on. Vary your designs, so that I am not driving the same car as the taxi driver beside me. Be humble in your statements. Keep a low profile in your tag lines. Don’t swell your head making advertisement claims. Be a more responsible corporate citizen!
As for end users, I am calling everybody to consider Proton for their next purchase of a brand new car. Don’t put your money on foreign cars no matter how tempting they may be. Our economy is not getting any better, and you know it. Don’t make it worse by punishing Proton. As Malaysians, let us be more responsible. It’s a legacy we leave for future generations of Malaysians, if not our own children.
Remember the ad series for Patek Philippe watches which read, "You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation." While we may not speak the same of the cars’ longevity, timeless beauty, and value as a family heirloom in the case of Proton, we do speak of the country’s well-being. This emotive approach is bolstered by another wise saying about preserving the environment, “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children”.
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