2. Proton was known for its cheap cars. The assumption is that it can never produce cars of quality as represented by European, Japanese and even Korean cars.
3. The people at Proton are unhappy over this reputation. They feel it is wrong to think that they cannot produce high end cars. It is just that the company policy was to produce run-of-the-mill cars. The Malaysian public expect Malaysian cars to be cheap. Cheap cars just cannot have the quality and the features of the more costly imports.
5. The other day I test drove their latest model on the test track at Shah Alam. I can verify and assure Proton customers and Malaysians generally that this new model can match any of the Japanese or European quality cars. It was such a pleasure to drive. A foreign friend who knows cars, tested the car and says it is up to the standard of the up-market cars from Europe.
6. This car uses hot press steel body which is stronger than cold press. It has a 1.6 liter turbocharged engine equal to a 2.0 liter engine power. The engine complies with Euro-five standards.
7. A whole list of feature has been incorporated. This includes Vehicle Seek Lamp, Wiper Auto Speed, Auto side door folding mirror, Push Button Start / Stop, Sensors for Automatic Wiper and Headlamp and GPS Antenna for Navigation System.
8. Additionally it has Impact Sensing Door Lock, Continuous Variable Transmission, Security Alarm System, Immobiliser and Central Locking.
9. The automatic version has Shift Lever with Tiptronic Mode and Paddle Shifter on Steering Wheel for seven gear changes. ABS to prevent skidding and BA (Brake Assist) to increase brake pedal force.
10. There are many others features which enhances the performance of the engine and driveability of the car.
11. There will be several models with less features than I describe. But they are all superior to the other Proton cars.
12. Naturally the price would be higher though probable cheaper than imports with similar features and quality.
13. I believe this is a great car and Proton can be proud of it. Malaysians can be proud of it too. The extra Ringgit you have to spend will be worth it.
14. The car will be available in three months time.
aiyak.. kereta negara lain kualiti tip top, harga murah utk rakyat..
kereta malaysia yg xde kualiti pun mahal. kalau ok sikit lg mahal.. kerajaan pandai bg harga kereta jadi mahal je. mkn cukai byk.. boros kat luar negara. mana ada pemimpin negara n menteri2 pakai kereta BUATAN MALAYSIA???? kereta rasmi boleh la.junk car mana deorang layan.secara rasminya deorang bangga jadi rakyat malaysia. kalau xrasminya atau seikhlasnya mereka xpeduli dgn rakyat malaysia. barangan MALAYSIA?? hahaha.. utk org yg xmampu je..
Tun yang diRahmati Allah swt.
Mohon izin….. untuk sitinur
1. Orang yg tidak patriotik itu ialah HAPRAK (pinjam vocab orang hamPAS) ….. hu hu hu
2. Syukur kita semua tidak HAPRAK….. Alhamdulillah.
TunTuah,
You are somewhat true there. I shall try and get more tauke to comment in here. Will you kowtow to them? Because they contribute more taxes than everyone else. The more money you contribute, you have more of a right to comment and kutuk. Tuntuah, your principles makes sense but not in this context.
If you are a poor Indian living in India with basically zero contribution to taxes but is asking the govn for help then kutuking them, are they not allowed? The ridiculous point you made is taxes. If the world operated the way you think, we would go down in flames. Ppl have always been fighting against discrimination espc as we are all equal. You want to bring in nonsense like cili metaphores. Mate, I can discriminate you now coz you drive a crappy Proton. Majority of the minorities prance around in expensive foreign cars. However, the point of criticizing here is not to look down or discriminate those who purchase it because of your social or financial standing.
Go anywhere in the world today. Any country and say that you do not have equal rights to someone who contributes taxes. AND also, for those with a higher tax bracket, they haev more power. That is going back to the same concept, the rich and powerful will always rule. No one is equals. Well mate, my family contributes more than enough taxes. I tell you that I have the right to discriminate as well. I dont want to kutuk Proton in fact. I want to look down on all the worthless ppl driving around in Proton. Tak pernah dengar about Mercedez or BMW ke?
Shame on you for practising discrimination outright again and again. Teach that to your kids sir. AND, you damn well better make sure you reach the creme of the crop of society if you want to discriminate. Coz trust me, it aint fun being at the end of it.
proton lama body tiptop,kene langgar pun tak kisah
proton baru body lembik,kalau eksiden confirm hancur.
Moral=jangan bagi eksiden sampai hutang dah langsai…aiyahhh
Juks.
I am happily to say that what i wrote was correct undoubtly.
You cannot say anything on the food if you not taste it.
if you condemn the food tak sedap but you are not taste it, definitely you tipu.
same case to proton and people who paid their taxes. they can make hell of noises because they contributed.
for those who not contributed, frankly, they do not know what they are talking about. only hear say. so only hear say they will get.
for those makan cili, they will know how pedas the cili is. for those who not taste the chilly, they only know on the pedas story and they not even know how the pedas feels like.
some like pedas and some not. so taste it then you can comment.
so contribute first before you comment because without contribution given, frankly, you will be bias.
you like to be a liar then? definitely not, i am sure.
Eh Tuntuah,
I was speaking to some Msian friends the other day. And it seems your qualification for ‘kutuking’ our national car is only valid if you own a proton car and pay taxes? I can find you a million ppl out there who disregard Proton because of its quality. Please dont talk about national pride. There are ppl who would kill for our country. But trust me, Proton is the least on their mind. I have met a tonne of cab drivers who bitch and complain about Proton. The lower and middle class rather take out an extra loan for a better car long term as well. So basically, that leaves ppl with no choice but to purchase a proton or those who are nationalistic. Proton, please widen your demographic for buyers. I understand that it is not the worst car out there. BUT again go back to price. It is not that cheap. If those are justifications given for Proton, why are they still in a rut. This is business. Mate, in business you have to be ruthless at times to survive and if ppl want to keep playing that card, then so be it.
I mean imagine MAS coming out with that stoopid explanation. Ppl only want to compete on price, hence Airasia. As if ppl are talking proudly about how I flew on our national carrier. Ppl are more interested in service, quality and its costs. Leave it to the minorities to handle business. You however, keep flying the flag high and hold the flag poles. Sorry for the harsh language, but it seems we keep running in circles. You are talking about nationalism and while I dont disregard that, I am saying welcome to the real world. As much as I hate seeing ppl being stepped on just to make a buck, everyone does it daily. It is the distribution of wealth. Someone`s loss is another person`s gain.
Assalamu’alaikum wr wb
Tuan Guru YAB Tun Dr Mahathir Yg DiRahmati Allah swt.
Kami berpendapat usaha Proton memasang keretanya di negara2 Islam lain di seluruh dunia adalah satu langkah yang bijak.
Tun Tuah and friends,
Let’s not read what “juks” wrote. We should not waste our time and energy for this type of people. They only know how to kutuk and complain but will never vote for BN. so to teach them a good lesson please do not reply or entertain them. They bring nothing to this country. They are part of the people who will never support our Pasar malam and Pasar Tani traders. We instead have been supporting and buying from their Electrical companies, supermarkets, boutiques etc. and when they have prospered they demand many things from us.
This is the type who have been advertising in the papers for “mandarin speaking candidates required”. They will never support our contractors, architects, doctors etc. we on the other hand are too nice and too “tidak apa” to all these nonsense as we are killing our own people indirectly.
please change our mindset and attitude. The more you support them the more they kutuk and will never support you unless they are desperate or have some hidden agenda.
Buy Bumiputra Products !!!!!
Cherry,
In regards to minority and majority, that is politics if you want to start dwelling on Dap and political parties. I am bringing out facts. I am neither a supporter of any political party at the moment. I have said it many times that Pakatan has really yet to prove that it can manage the country. Penang on a whole is doing really really well. Much better than BN anyways. Go look at the stats. Even in terms of majority Malays being poorer, that is stats. It is not to mencaci kaum Melayu or anything. Maybe Tun should write an article on that to wake the people up. During the recent debate between Dr. Chua and Guan Eng, PM Najib gave a speech at the start which really changed my perception on him. Now, if talk wasnt cheap and he can really deliver, I dont see a problem with him winning the next GE. He has made statements like anyone with 9As getting a JPA grant regardless of race. We did not see taht in the past. Again, taking to comparison someone from the village and urban areas. Someone who comes from the village and scores even 6As is extremely commendable and should deserve taht scholarship. However, in trying to tweak the system, I believe that lets give help in other ways instead of the JPA grant. They should be given funds and help to compete in education so that it levels out the playing field.
I have met ppl here in the UK who beleive that healthcare should be free for all AND ppl shouldnt be allowed to pay for better healthcare. My point is, why work hard then? Why struggle for a better life? We all seek things in higher quality everyday. Instead of forbiding ppl from seeking higher healthcare, the govn should be more focused on policies to increase the quality of the local NHS. This is about levelling the playing field at the end of the day and not looking at the little bits. Even in terms of wealth, do not penalise the rich for working hard. Instead, create and provide more opportunities for the lower class. Provide help or resources. Enough with the jibberish of how the higher class have it easier. THe policies should be towards helping the lower class and let them compete from there on. The scholarships can then be given out trully based on merit. Now, this seems bold as there are a million factors out there affecting kampung ppl which I may not fully comprehend. This is just my humble two cents.
Dear old TunTuah,
You are still living in the clouds. IF that is your argument, I should get some tauke tauke cina to comment here who contribute massively on taxes every year. After all, chinese contribute almost 90 percent of taxes. Because that is what counts it seems. Contribution of taxes first, then kutuk. Well for those who contribute higher percentages have a higher authority as well to slander our national car. THat will hopefully shut you up coz god knows they contribute way much more than you do.
I would never condemn anyone for purchasing our national car. Please raed back again. I said it is in fact commendable that people like cherry have nationalistic views and believe in Proton. How is that wrong? I praise ppl like you in fact as I believe that is the only way forward. HOWEVER, you clearly are still living in the clouds. Proton is no where close of getting out of its rut. Look at MAS, and Proton. Msian ppl are majority apathic. Listen, we are not going to start competing based on ppl`s nationalistic perceptions. It will not happen anytime soon. If the ppl at Proton cannot seem to get that into their head, then I cant say anything more.
Dr. Mahathir Mohamad
Salam Hormat
Interesting Articles:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_industry_in_Russia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_industry_crisis_of_2008%E2%80%932010
Why is it that Proton is still surviving, Doc?
juks,
You kutuk without new suggestions….kutuk is so easy without suggestions for improvement.
You always kutuk which is considered as unsolicited “advice” when you shpould give “constructive criticism” which a good citizen should do and always do. Thousands of Toyota and Honda cars (and a few others) have been recalled….just to highlight this to some Malaysian citizens who like to glorify others and kutuk Malaysian products.
Look yourself in the miror first. Read your early comments and my early comments. You were the one who used the words like “idiot” and “stupid “. Pot calling the kettle black.
Malays never believe in your explanation about what you said about the minority and the majority because they see that DAP and PAP are the same. They see that in Penang.
Cherry. Be cool.
Dont be bothered to the people that are not contributed a single sen to the country. Not paying tax, not buying proton car but always condemn. What a crap of these people.
Setakat air liur ajer, then u get air liur lah..
Ini tak. Mau itu ini, condemn saner sini.
If people like juks want something, invest la. Buy proton car, so proton can get the money and do r n d. So proton can produce good quality car in the future. Ini mau makan tak mau suap sendiri.. Then condemn people pasal perut lapar.. Ishhh ini punya orang pun ader ka?????
By the way your money.. You choose la wat car u want but dont condemn la other cars…
People living in developed country should think like the developed country people, it is a shame that these people that live in developed country have a mind of jungle people. Wat la
Assalamu’alaikum wr wb
YAB Tuan Guru Tun Dr Mahathir Yg DiRahmati ALLAH swt.
1. Masalah yang dihadapi oleh Proton sebenarnya berpunca dari PAS.
2. PAS terlalu mengkondem Proton, sehingga ada yang ‘boikot’ Proton, walau pun dia guna Proton kerana murah, selesa dengan air/cond, tenteram dengan fungsi radionya, tetapi dimasa yang sama dia ‘kutuk’ Dr Mahathir………. ini lah ajaran PAS yang wajib ditolak orang semua orang.
3. Kami berdoa dengan sokongan serta semangat kenegaraan tinggi oleh sebahagian besar rakyat Msia, Proton akan menuju kejayaan………… Amin.
TQ Tun Dr Mahathir……………… Msian are very proud to have u
Cherry,
We go round in circles again. You are asking all Msians to be grateful by being quiet. Even if you are unhappy with the way things are being done, just be quiet. God forbid, our forefathers came here long time ago to a land that was not ours. Fine. I can accept that as an argument. However, like any other rightful citizen in the world today and also the right to vote, we are allowed to voice our dislike for things espc when it comes to the govn. In a diff country, if someone heard you spewing garbage like you are not from this country, you would prolly be dragged on the streets. Tun M`s vision 2020 hoped that Msians could one day see pass the history of what Msia once was…Minorities have lived here long enough and it seems that mentality has not changed at all. If ppl like you can still regard us as foreigners, we are not any closer to achieving that vision. I respect your faith and believe in BN. But making a statement like that, please do teach your children as well to say the same thing to a chinese or indian in future should they chose to complain on something simple such as teachers or civil servants.
Btw, my family has always voted for BN. Well, almost the whole country did, hence look at their past records. 2008 changed everything. We are not talking about the past but the way things were governed during that period. It hasnt gotten any better. Your point on if you dont buy then why kutuk??? Mrs, it is our national car. I am generally interested as a Msian and want to see our national car succeed as well. Again, if everyone was as apathic, Msian would go down in flames. If no one stepped up to say something, Proton would still be living in the clouds. Again, give credit when due. I am proud that we have a national car and an identity. I do see Proton`s in the UK as well time to time. It makes me proud. However, when ppl start talking about its quality, epsc among foreigners and with the price tag, it aint worth it honey. So please, do yourself a favor and watch top gear reviews on it too. Again, talk about quality vs cost. We are no where near catching the foreign market. Great that we have a car, but all it takes is another cheaper foreign car to tumble Proton down.
juks,
are you stalking me?
juks,
Whose nerve are you talking about? Your two replies says it all. Now you bring in Mercedes….bla bla bla….you dont want to buy so do not buy la…why waste time kutuking? People kutuk you but you tak tahan so do not kutuk our Malaysian products if you do not want them. That is my point.
I have no time to read your lenghty reply because it is just “tin kosong”. Get something else to do or somewhere to go and hibernate.
Asalamualaikum…..
ramai org m’sia tidak patriotik hu hu hu…..
cayok cayok cayok proton…..
tapi…..aper laa nasibnyer biler…..
Salam,
Its good to hear a better proton car is coming out. Its not that I want to buy a new car but kinda proud to know that Proton is still alive n kickin.
Proton is cheap and not just ‘cheaper than other cars’ as some might said. Toyota produced more than 8.5 mil units in a year (2007) compared to Proton; 3mil units within 23 years (1985-2008).
What really disturbs me is why Proton still a ‘Juara Kampung’? I heard rumours how a foreign distributor demand more variants but only get 1 or 2 models only. Excuse given: Its not economical to make left hand drive for Satria Neo and Exora. These 2 models can go a long way in Arab and some European countries. Please learn from Kia and Hyundai.
Salam Tuan;
sProton dan rakan kongsinya harus berani bergerak kehadapan mempelopori pengeluaran kereta generasi baru yang menggunakan injin jenerasi baru dan tidak lagi kepada injin konvensional yang hanya menggunakan system pembakaran dalam semata-mata.
Negara kita adalah pengeluar bahan petroleum. Jika kepentingan industry agensi tersebut hendak dilindungi, maka Proton harus keluarkan kereta hybrid(kombinasi petrol dan elektrik) pada peringkat permulaan.
Matlamatnya ialah, injin yang dapat menjimatkan penggunaan minyak sehingga melebihi 50 peratus seperti yang dilakukan oleh Honda, Toyota dan syarikat pengeluar Jepun lain yang kini sudah mula memasuki pasaran dan mungkin akan menguasai pasaran dunia dalam masa terdekat.
Usaha berterusan harus dilakukan pula dari masa kesemasa untuk penambahbaikan system injin tersebut lebih cekap agar penjimatan penggunaan minyak dapat melebihi 80 petatus.
Adalah diharapkan, penggunaan injin tunggal konvensional akan dilupakan dan menjadi lipatan sejarah dalam ara otomobil. Tq Tun.
Salam Tun;
Proton harus memulakan satu revolusi, iaitu menerajui ciptaan kereta jenerasi baru teknologi hijau – hybrid atau elektrik untuk menarik minat pengguna.
Proton harus mulakan dari sekarang merekacipta kereta jenerasi baru ini untuk boleh bersaing atau mendahului dunia pembuat kereta didunia seperti yang Jepun pernah lakukan sebelum ini ketika era kereta konvensional.
Kini Jepun telah mendahului barat menghasilkan injen kereta jenerasi baru yang mana masa akan datang injen konventional tidak dipedulikan lagi.
Ayoh bergerak SEGERA Proton. Tampil menjadi peneraju seiring dengan Jepun. Tq Tun.
juks,
let me go straight to the point.
Why did your forefathers come to Malaysia? greener pasture indeed. They accepted the citizenship to stay here with new laws and people.
The history is repeating itself.
Today, you see other countries pasture are greener than Malaysia. You will never be satisfied like your forefathers. You should emulate them.
I have been to UK. The police siren was very noisy and can be heard every now and then. Malaysia is still the best for me. The food, cost of living and many many more things. Of course there are certain things that we are not up to the standard but overall, the cost of living and the weather culture are very much better than the rest of the world.
As for being in the “minority group”, you have no shame when you did not vote for the BN and yet asking BN to listen to you. You must bring your grouses and unhappiness to those politicians that you love and you think smarter than the BN leaders. Those that you voted should listen to you NOT those you did not vote and kutuk. They should help you or at least “promise” to do what you want or think good leaders should do.
This may sound harsh but I do not mean to be rude here today.
Sometimes we tend to forget things before we air our grievences in the open.
Salam Tun,
Nk mintak kebenaran utk share artikel ni di blog saya..http://kelabprotonsaga.blogspot.com
terima kasih
Assalamu’alaikum wr wb.
Tuan Guru Dr Mahathir Yg Di Rahmati ALLAH SWT
1. Proton tidak bersalah.
2. Mereka yang tidak menyokong proton (kereta negera sendiri) itu lah yang bersalah.
3. Mereka yang mengkeji dan menghina proton (kereta negara yang sepatutnya mendapat sokongan untuk berkembang) itu lah yang keji.
4. Honda bermula dengan masalah dan serba kekurangan tetapi tepat diberi sokongan oleh bangsa Jepun ………. akhirnya … sendiri boleh tau lah!
Sudin,
Great two points you made there. Japanese ppl are extremely patriotic as they constantly support local products. Second point you mentioned that it is cost and fuel efficient. In terms of quality, we should be competing more on that basis. Again, we keep going back to basic principles of a business transaction. IF the BN govn will continue to use that excuse of patriotism for Proton, it will not go anywhere. Encik Sudin, you and I know very well for a fact that your average Msian is apathic. Nationalistic pride is not our strong point. Take chinese ppl for instant, we are more realistic and look at it from quality vs price. Yes, we should instill more nationalism values into our ppl. However, I highly doubt that is going to be any more efficient into helping Proton sell more cars. So for now, if more effort can be put into competing with foreign cars, I see a real chance to change the Msian perception on Proton. But please, do not use the quote ` I am a Msian citizen and we should support Proton`. It is vital that we do instill those values. But being realistic, that is not going to change our perceptions on Proton for now.
Cherry,
I am not berating ppl for purchasing proton. If that is your choice so be it and it is commendable too. Nothing wrong there. However, you cannot use proton as an excuse to bring in words like patriotism. It is a business transaction. Do you honestly believe that ppl drive around in Protons because of nationalistic views. If so, please travel more and see the world. I wont doubt that there are those who purchase those for the sake of it. However, Proton hasnt given much as a car to shout about. Japanese cars however, I believe have somewhat proven their worth as well. Again, this is a business transaction, not politics. Takkan you are naive enough to believe that ppl would prefer Proton vs German cars. Is the Msian dream purchasing a proton or BMW? No brownie points for answering that question.
This sounds more like the old Sudin talking where Malays use to go the chinese shop to purchase goods. And now we forget them. Ffs, if you think a malay goes to a chinese shop because of nationalistic view, you are clearly deluded. This is reality. We all purchase things by looking at quality and price. Look at Tesco vs other retailers. Unless ure into politics and want to boycott something, then so be it. Till then, your average citizen is more concerned about quality vs price. I am not berating you for going to your local shop. I think it is great if you do. However, for those who cant afford or believe in quality vs price, you cannot single them out either. Its like preaching about going eco and green for the environment. These things like building an eco friendly environment costs a bomb. It is for the greater good, yes. Support our local markets as opposed to cold storage. BUT nationalism is not enough of an excuse to pull ppl in. Start competing!!! As I am not well versed with the automotive industry of Proton, all I can say is that if Tun really believes that this new model can change our perception, then great. I am all for it. Hopefully the car can prove its worth and money.
Cherry,
Haha, hit another nerve there didnt I? I had a great childhood thank you very much. In fact, like your average Msian chinese, we are all apathic and couldnt care less about proton or politics. It is more about business and money. Now, when we start getting into it, we bump into ppl like you. Thats why, majority who dont have the stomach to face ppl like you, they prefer to just sit in the sidelines and not vote. I however, will not sit by and let ppl like you spew more garbage about ketuanan melayu nonsense. Hahaha. Its funny how usually the minorities are the ones who need help cause they have been sidelined? It is only in Msia where the majority is in need. That is truly a sight and something that foreigners find odd. You have blacks who are discriminated and all need help. However, the minorites do plentyful for ketuanan Melayu`s. Something to sit and think about it. For now, if proton cannot prove its worth, please dont talk about nationalism if you dont buy proton. This is a business transaction, something whcih you clearly cannot understand. Why would a tycoon purchase a proton. Is that the Msian dream? Proton was made more for the lower class or average class. That too is not the case as it is not considered cheap. Ppl rather purchase something else as you get more bang for your buck. So who else will purchase proton? My point is improve and we shall talk. Till then, the dream car remains. A ferrari perhaps? Ketuanan Melayu can stick to proton. Yea, make sure you are beaming with pride while you ride in your waja
juks and pakpandir08,
Please read from ……..
“sudin
February 10, 2012 at 11:57 pm”
Thanks a lot sudin.
juks……
why so perasan? Nobody is forcing you to buy Proton…so don’t buy la….Yes, I am patriotic and will continue to buy Proton because what better to do than to support it this way.
So keep on kutuking our local product without any suggestions to it (what ideas do you actually have other than kutuking) if you think it makes you feel smarter everyday.
You are not good enough for the country too. Nobody likes you here anyway. Must be sad childhood indeed.
Encik Sudin,
Good for you if Proton is your first choice for a car. However, in a business transaction, ppl want to get most bang for their buck. Also, if you are well off, like human beings, we like being rewarded with more expensive and branded cars. You should know this by now that Asia is a brand haven. Everything is about name. This could be subconscious at times as we do not realize. For you to equate straight that someone who does not drive a proton is maybe less patriotic is nonsense. Again, another caveman thinking. If I pray more times in a day than you, I am more religious. How true! Muslim prays what 5 times a day>? I will make sure I pray 6 times everyday.
Just fyi, your comments are being read by politic students from my Uni as well. It really is absolutely ridicolous that we still have ppl like you around. Hopefully the new young generation can bring in some fresh thinkers as opposed to old school ppl like you. You chose to insult and berate younger ppl and demand respect in return. Do teach that to your children as well. Are you as open and hostile in real life as well?
You cannot force people to purchase something because of nationalism spirit. At the end of the day, like our music and movie business whcih is struggling, its all about quality. This is also a business transaction. You cannot ask someone to fork out x amount of rinngit for a proton car just cause you think its patroitism. Agreed that we all suffer from inferiority when it comes to foreign brands, however, our local quality is still somewhat lacking in order to really compete with foreign cars.
I am obvs expecting a hostile response from this. Cherry,
at the end of the day, it is ppl`s money this is a business transaction. Dont give me nonsense like I will spend more money just because. Maybe you can afford it. Some ppl cant. Absolutely disgusting. If you want to go to the kedai runcit and spend more, you can afford it. Ppl seem to forget that at the end of the day, these things cost money. Going so called eco and green costs a fortune. Being so called patroitic, is not exactly cheap either if you are asking for ppl to buy proton instead which really you get more bang for your buck looking into other cars.
Tahniah kepada Proton… Its just going to be another rebadged Mitsubishi. A Mitsubishi 2 or 3 generations behind the latest in Japan.
Salam Tun.
I’ve purchased 11 new Proton cars since 1985 and always keep at least 2 units at any one time for family use. My family are happy and always feel proud owning & driving them.
There were problems to some Proton models, but these problems were minor (especially in terms of cost) if compared to the various problems posed by Cherokee Jeep, Daihatsu Rocky, Mitsubishi Pajero, Kia Spectra, to name a few of those foreign cars.
I’ve commented earlier on the problems faced by Proton due to the attitude of Malaysians. I’ll copy & paste the comments since ‘Melayu mudah lupa’:
April 3, 2011 at 3:05 am -PROTECTIONISM.
“When the Japanese cars first entered the American market in early 1960s, the US carmakers dismantled all parts of every Japenese car model and made a stunning discovery; Japanese cars are basically motorcycles on 4 wheels! (Arthur Hailey’s “WHEELS”)
“The Japanese however have 2 distinct advantages:
1. Thier cars were proven to be cost & fuel saving.
2. Patriotism. They did not stop the US & European cars competing for Japanese market, but they just refused to buy them! The same patriotic sense were evident to all Japanese expatriates/diplomats throughout the world.
“Next, the Japanese just concentrated on improvement and customer satisfaction, which eventually made them a world leader and this has created the wrath of US who retaliated by introducing protectionism (the hypocrite!).
“In contrast, Dr. M’s grand idea on Proton did not earn a single encouragement, with MOF’s KuLi leading the smear campaign. Nevertheless, Proton was born.
“The Malaysian oppositions & anti-Mahathir morons are not interested that Proton has earned RMtrillions saving on foreign exchange, provide jobs and other related business opportunities, because all that they care is Malaysians must take note of their “we are the tong kosong club, please hate us” grouses.
“Note the disparity shown by Malaysians toward Proton as compared Japan’s Toyotas & Hondas:
1. T’ganu showered Mercs to thier excos, DBKL tried to hide the Volvos accorded to the department heads.
2. Affordable Malaysian companies/individuals/alibabas insisted that Proton Limo/Executive/Perdana don’t have ‘ummpph’ to enable them to show-off thier extravagant.
3. Pak Dol ‘no quality’ PM5 was most upset when Dr. M interfered just after he finalised the list of potential buyers for Proton’s public auction!!
4. Ingrates such as Ir. Syahriral never feel tired with the non-stop & same repetitive negative remarks on Proton (memalukan engineer aje).”
Assalamualaikum Tun,
Semoga sentiasa di dalam rahmat Allah s.w.t.
Sekadar ingin berkongsi pendapat…..
Tahniah kepada proton kerana maju setapak lagi. Kereta proton terakhir yang saya pandu ialah proton wira aeroback 1.3cc tahun 2000.
Teringin membeli proton baru samada Exora Bold atau Inspira, tapi tertangguh sementara kerana memikirkan kadar interest yang tinggi iaitu +- 4% sekarang.
Sebagai pembeli ada beberapa kriteria yang menjadi keutamaan saya:
1. Bayaran bulanan dan maintenance (interest!!!).
2. Selesa… walaupun saya ada seorang isteri dan seorang anak (12thn) – tapi ahli keluarga lain ramai.
3. Bergaya.
Yang bermain difikiran…..
Saya tak kira kelas kereta janji bayaran bulanan bawah 1k kira orait. Nak beli inspira terfikir pula honda city harganya sama… secondhand value pun lebih baik… pulak nanti tak boleh bawa ahli keluarga ramai-ramai sebab kereta….ishhhh…. Nak beli exora sekarang interest tinggi, kalau keluar 10% deposit, bulanan lebih 1k… belum masuk servis, insurance dan roadtax… aduhai………….
Kereta Korea awal-awal saya dah reject sebab “korean is for korean people” – kalau diaorang boleh semangat kekitaan…. saya pun boleh…
JADI!!!!!!!!! Kenapa ekkk interest kereta nasional tinggi?….. Suka hati orang BNM nak “taruk” ke atau ada kriteria lain?.
So…. akhirnya… saya terpandang vios…. murah…interest rendah…….maintenance ok…..secondhand value baik… tak ke rugi proton kalau ada satu juta umat lagi berfikir macam saya….
Tapi belum beli vios pun…. masih fikir….
Saya memang sokong proton…. tapi siapa nak sokong saya???
Wallahualam…
Ir syahrizan,
La ilahaillallah Muhamad ya rasulullah..
Hang tak setuju dan tak mau beli Proton so suka hati hang la.
Hang ingat Tun M dan semua di sini duk melututkan kat hang supaya beli ka?
Kalau hang patriotic enough like me you will buy Proton no matter what and let Proton improve gradually with the support from fellow grateful malaysians. But if hang berkira dan tak mampu nak maintain a bad Proton car then do not buy it. Let others buy and be proud of the national car.
Malaysian products are not good and will never be good with people like you who worshipped other products. Other expensive and branded cars also have troubles every now and then but you seemed never want to notice.
Malaysians like you are also not good. Other people must have been looking down at you for “kutuking” your own national car without looking at yourself in the mirror. Constructive criticism is always welcomed. They must be laughing at you for being a Malaysian. Please tell them you are not a Malaysian but an alien from outer space who has been so intelligent and have never benefitted from the country called Malaysia.
Maybe you should present to Malaysia a model car for us to judge after reading about your “intelligent” opinion all this while. No LEGO car please.
And don’t insult our intelligence.
What good have you actually done to this country other than living and cari makan di atas bumi ini yang sangat tidak memerlukan parasit macam hang.
YABhg Tun,
….Europeans are not laughting at the Japanese now like they used to back in the 50’s…
Dear Tun,
I will be one of the customers that going to test drive this car. Hope it would be mind-blowing experience.
As Salam Tun,
Permit me:
Ir Syahrizan, why didn’t you just continue to stay away? And while you do that, hands off the new Protons that Tun just described. I think none of us are interested to know your take on them.
Just get lost, will you!
Astagahfirullah…
Are sure Proton car is already in-par with Continental and Japang? (After 28 years)?
To make matters worst, you’re telling us all this time Proton car is very cheap versus the quality provided? What happen to NAP policy? What happen to the heavy tax smack for import models?
Try the Proton “warranty and claims” department. A new Proton car owner will do an average 10 to 30 visits/per year for miscellaneous complaints on quality; from door knobs to mechanical-electrical problems. I know this, because I owned one of these “tin milos” before.
For your information my Grandma’s (God bless her) 1980’s Toyota Corolla carburetor engine is more powerful and fuel efficient than the current model Campro Engines. And it is still burning rubber for her daily prayers visits.
Tun Dr. M, with all due respect, I think you’ve never actually own, driven and maintained a Proton car on a daily basis. Perhaps you had ridden the more ‘exclusive’ Proton Perdana aka rebadge Mitsubishi Eterna when you’re on the Throne; have you try driven other Proton’s ‘exclusive’ models: Saga, Iswara, Waja, Persona, Gen2, Juara and Arena.
After almost a year + I didn’t write any comments in your blog. Your blog on Proton really trigger my interest, again. Fortunately, it is the same old story with a different twist.
I say, enough is enough. No more Proton.
As written by you earlier, “I stopped using Proton cars after I stepped down. I wanted to enjoy the superior quality of the high-end European and Japanese cars.”
At least, I agree with your first paragraph. 🙂
Tun,
1)I had Proton Saga and Wira.Both had rusty rooftop and bonnets.Proton refused to replace them if the car is not serviced in their centre after two years.
2)Now I am still driving the 11 years-old Waja.The management has addressed the rusty problem in Waja.It now has problem in plastics area like paint work peeling off at the outdoor mirror joint,the glove compartment falls open ,etc.
3)The management are less competent to enforce strict quality control on the plastic parts suppliers.(You know the reason.)
4)I had brake problem once which the brake pump booster failed and nearly sent me into the back of a lorry.That they even did not stock and the waiting time three days.
5)Apart the other normal wear and tear maintenance,the engine has not gave any problem thus far.
6)It also an ideal size car for distance travelling for a family of four with sufficient size boot.
7)It is also more economical on fuel consumption as compared to Myvi.
8)To sum up,Proton has made a cheap and good car in Waja but now it has stopped production.
9)I read somewhere that Proton had a cash reserve of RM 2.4B before the Tengku CEO left,but not much left now as you has pointed out.
10)You sow what you reaped.You are the strong proponent of this POLICY which is enshrined in the Article 153.
11)The “end products” are there for you to watch.
Salam YAB Tun,
With the Duty, yes it is the cheapest car. In a coule of years time, Proton will be 30 years old. As part of nation building, it contributed. But looking at its ability to push the volume so that the price will sigficantly be reduced, it has failed.
If the quality is good, why can it be marketed out of Malaysia. Our market is too small for us to achieve economics of scale. Even our push for the UK market was based on “lowest price”. Has the marketing team product positioning strategy failed them? In order to be competitive, Proton must look at other market so that it can increase production and bringing the cost down.
Any effort to bring it in into China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam. Kalau setakat nak test market, tak payah la. It has to be concerted efforts with BIG marketing budget for branding and positioning which overcome current perception of proton cars. Maybe it has to be a 7 years strategy with marketing cost shared by the various countries targetted.
When Proton Waja was released, I saw a Waja displayed in Darling Harbour Sydney. That was it? Is that how we wanted to capture the Australian market? Laughable. I didn’t see anything in print ads or TV commercials
I bet the management then knew it cost a lot of money to penetrate new market. Dealership, distribution chain, service centre, product turnaround. It has to be benchmarked to successful brand. Takkan One dealer in Sydney. Unfortunately, for some reason, despite knowing the Key Success Factors for such initiatives, it was not put in place.
Come on la. DAH DEKAT 30 TAHUN. Who is your marketing mind? Who is your product and penetration strategy mastros? Setakat tunjuk improvement of sales in Malaysia, you are not going anywhere. Maybe you need a new brand with colloboration from Lotus.
Dump Proton, Sell NAZA as a brand world wide. Maybe.
Pak pandir08….
If you support your country and locals then you will not complain much even tho Proton might be more expensive.
I usually buy from the Pasar Malam to support the locals even tho their price is a bit higher then TESCO etc. It will not make me poor after that.
Let’s everybody shop at TESCO and let our small kedai runcit and traders in Pasar Malam and Pasar Tani die.
Let’s kutuk PROTON and any Malaysian products because we are not good enough. Do not give any chance or room for improvements for Malaysian Products.
pak pandir08,
Please do not buy local products. Nobody is forcing you to. Oneday, your offsprings will have no job because of people like you who are not “patriotic” to their country. You will deny this but words and action is the proof of this disgusting attitude.
What is your contribution to the country so far?
PROTON + PERODUA
MITSUBISHI + TOYOTA ( DAIHATSU )
Fantastic Car Wash
Assalamualaikum Tun.
Saya tak berpeluang lagi nak beli kereta jepun atau eropah.
Tapi untuk menyambut ahli baru dalam keluarga, saya berfikiran untuk beli proton satu lagi.
Kereta di langkawi lebih murah, tapi dengar cerita nak bawak ke tanah besar akan kena tax walau dah berapa lama beli.
By the way,selama cuti sari dua kat langkawi dengan rombongan cik kiah, saya rasa tak berapa gemar la kalau tourist guide dalam bas asyik bercakap banyak.
Cuba kelentong saya ka? Bukan sahaja ahli perniagaan kena bercakap benar.Ahli politik juga kena bercakap benar.Tapi mungkin sebab ramai orang ,maka banyaklah ragam nak kena layan.
Ada jugak student UiTM dari Dungun yang beria-ria ajak jemaah maghrib dan jama’.Tok Imam kebetulannya pulak mudah menerima pelawaan.Mungkin Ibnu Sulaiman suka macam ni.
Terima kasih Tun.
Tun,
Thank you for the early leak of the spec. From the sound of it, it does sound wonderful. Hopefully this model will open new doors to Proton.
On another note, DSZ has been doing good job on Proton. Hopefully he’ll still be able to drive Proton further under the new ownership.
Assalam Tun
Bravo Tun, proton is finally making a little business sense out of everything else before. There are a lot of lessons to be learned. Just take hyundai for example, if i am not mistaken they also had some agreement with Mitsubishi a little earlier than proton but they have greatly changed and now is a rivalry to honda and toyota. they might have been enjoying better treatment with regards to U.S market access. back then they tested their not so attractive hyundai pony (as equal to tiara in design) before the finally entered US market but were not that successful i believed. but with their persevearance and non-governmental intervention they made a lot of achievements. Proton juara and savy might be the most cost-effective decision at that time but they really spoilled the proton market image. Proton i think is a very good commercial name but when bad decisions are made this potential had been greatly reduced and the image is tarnished. with regard to integra, i do not know what happened if that particular model is to be sold by proton why Mitsubishi is also selling the same exact model. this really affects proton’s image. if proton is ever to be successful it has to be given free hand to reposition itself in the extremely competitive environment. Certain precise decicions have to be made quickly in order to uplift the name again. pride may not be of value is it is not sustainable commercially. proton needs to make a lot of adjustments and possibly sacrifices.
No TMahaleel, No Nadzmi, Yes to DSZ
Dear Tun,
Barisan Nasional can and must capture Kelantan from PAS this time around. Besides the existing projects of building of mosques, bridge across Kelantan river costing rm150 millions and roads, Kelantan need just one more mega project to nail home and capture the heart and soul of the Kelantanese. BN can promise any one of the 3 projects for Kelantan in the coming PRU 13
1. Double track railway linking KL SENTRAL to KOTA BHARU. The current railway was built by the British in 1942 and not much improvement was done on it since then. Currently, the railway starts from Palekbang, Tumpat to Kuala Lipis, then going south to Gemas, then up to KL. Now we just join up Kuala Lipis and Sentol, KL. We can save at least 100 kilometers and improve the current tracks and add modern coaches to it. We have many capable Kelantanese industrialists wiling to lend their support if the federal government undertakes it.
2. MRT OR UNDERGROUND railway in Kota Bharu, similar and yet better version than that of Singapore because it would be water proof to double up as flood water retaining pool during annual flood season. Then, Kota Bharu would be the most high tech city in the world.
3. SMART tunnel from Pasir puteh to Kota Bharu as a flood and traffic mitigation project similar to the one in Kuala Lumpur.
This is the offer Kelantanese cannot refuse.
amin tan
YAB,
1. Pragmatic way of doing business including governing a country is similar.
2. Who are the nation builders; who are political wealth builders who matches the wishes of their constituencies just to win generation election but proved not popular in the ballot boxes, the result will be known.
3. Money made money out of thin air by promising moon and sun due to ego is “gambling.”
4. Money makes money is the long term investment that needs skills, hard work and professionalism.
5. I hope to see more Proton Cars with better features on the road.
6. People at Proton are not happy because our politicians just don’t get it where they stand today.
7. Old men likes to tell us their part of story in the past, and they think that Malaysia is still in 60s or 70s.
8. Like Jet Li once told Readers Digest in USA base that “Failed people tend to waste their remaining life time in telling the younger generation about their past success.”
Good day, YAB.
Assalamu Alaikum Tun,
Tahniah kepada proton…
Salam Tun yang amat dihormati …
allow me to express my Concern about owning a car and why reliable security LOCK are important to use to battle for car theft issue .
we spend hard earn money to buy a car is merely to ease us for tranporting us to woking place and have a family trip when there is a holiday with the lovely family members and many others may have their own reason to own a car at home so on …
many people in the automotive industry , especially automaker only think about how to make their car better performance , better features , good quality seat , sophisticated canbus system , lower fuel consumption engine , high tech GSM immobilisers and tracking system etc etc …
to buy a car is easy like to buy a house within our capability BUT to maintain it is another task . to set up a new company is easy BUT to maintain operating it for long runs is another set of challence . many of us knows that the car theft is not like in the past where they own way of connection with the newals gadget to bypass the system and may remove or take away a CAR within 7 minutes as reported in the newspaper recently . the alarm with GPS/GSM/GPRS has no help to buyer . theft has a gadget used to turn off the immobiisers within short period of time . RM1billion worth of motor vehicles stolen last year (Year 2011) has also reported by PDRM in the recent newspaper .
Executive Summary
PROTON
a) Market driven initiative
High rate of anti-theft devices were found on Wira vehicles, mainly due to “factory” fitted Gear Lock (62.2%)
b) Owner driven initiative
High awareness of Exora and Satria (Neo) were found, mainly due to newly registered vehicles, protected with Steering Lock (Exora – 66.7%), Satria – 62.5%)
c) Wait and See initiative
Low rate of anti-theft protection for Waja, Persona and Saga due to low awareness and in-available of proper devices offer.
Since discontinuation of “factory” fitted Gear Lock (Wira), no replacement device was offer to the above models, couple with the mentalities of low – middle price range vehicles make it less protection by owners.
OVERALL MODELS
Perodua had least anti-theft protection, mainly due to owners’ perception of cheap car mentalities
Toyota & Honda had higher anti-theft protection mainly due to owners’ awareness and the vehicle cost factor.
High risk of stolen vehicle (Toyota and Honda) had drove owners’ to seek additional protection despite vehicles well equipped with Immobilizer and alarm.
CONCLUSION
i) Current market available anti-theft devices cannot prevent the occurrence of missing vehicles due to ineffectiveness to combat the car thefts .
ii) Low awareness on anti-theft protection (overall – 53.7%) make it easier for theft to conduct their business. Proton and Perodua became the target as it is most pathetic due to low anti-theft awareness
iii) GPRS alarm the modern anti-theft devices costing RM2000 to RM4000 is not affordable to low income / price owners. Beside it had major setback of recovery due to timeliness of reporting missing vehicles. Owners’ need to be 24/7 alert, failure will caused “GPRS no help to buyer”
iv) Vehicle owner much depend on the manufacturer to provide effective anti-theft devices and not mind to pay additional cost for their protection. Survey result shown that Wira had high percentage of vehicle fitted with the Gear Lock, as it was fitted / provided by “factory”
v) Survey result also found that the owners’ had the tendency to disregard to the security of their vehicle due to inconveniences of locking Steering Lock. For long term, devices which is user friendly will make car owners’ to always lock their car when parking.
vi) Vehicle thefts made up of 40% of 2010 crime index with an average of 150 vehicles are stolen a day
~ The manufacturer should play the role to combat the car theft and help government to reduce the crime especially the government now had set National Key Result Area on crime deduction indexes.
~ New product of reliable and high security devices shall be installed to protect the Proton vehicles, as it being the major target of car thief.
vii) yuubi-LOCK , the newly invented mechanical gearshift lock will be able to provide Proton with better vehicles protection as well as “lost of business opportunities” of REM spare parts business from illegal trade of cannibalize parts from stolen vehicles.
yuubi-LOCK won certificate and awards :-
1. The National MARK of Malaysian BRAND .
2. The industry Excellence award 2010 , M.I.T.I .
3. 2 Gold Medal and 1 BEST Award from The Malaysian Association Of Research Scientists .
yuubi-LOCK – ALWAYS SECURE !
SALAM KASIH DAN SAYANG
AYAHANDA RAKYAT TUN
Izinkan,
From Ayahanda Tun descriptions, it appears the new model have features that of a Porsche ‘Cayenne'(PC) except its engine capacity.
Hopefully it has the looks of the PC so we can make it our own PC… say Proton ‘Cahya’ or Proton ‘Caya’ lah… hehe
ALFATIHAH, AMIN
Ps. Like a wise uncle said ‘Let us have something lighthearted in the midst of our famous annual festivities with the Tun’s permission’.
a lot of people will take this opportunities to whack n belittle proton.
proton, klcc, klia, perwaja, etc etc are all egonomic projects.
malaysia at this young age needs these egonomic projects to stimulate the people that they can do it. so slogan Malaysia boleh tercipta.
however these egonomic projects will cost billions of ringgit. is it worth? the pakatan dont like it. if we followed what pakatan has said, we might be known as ” people living on the tree” like what the westerner described us before. and the people like juks and many more do not have chances to live abroad.
so please dont hentam proton. for me, now proton is no longer an egonomic project. its in second stage now, conglomerate. do or die. hence a better car will follow suit like what TUN described above.
Dear Tun,
Good to hear that. Hopefully that model would be a turning point to Proton fortune after a long hiatus of model development. Fingers crossed, this model would be a breakthrough for Proton to penetrate foreign market.
Looking forward to test drive the car and experience another piece of Malaysian touch. Malaysia Boleh! seldom to hear this slogan nowadays…my ex-Briton Boss used to say it…
good review and promotion. hope all the says will last at least 5 years, if not proton needs to promote life time warranty for all its parts…
I love my Persona but now I’m thinking of selling them and buy these new models!
Tun,
Power window confirmed no issues? Otherwise when using TouchNGo, have to open the door …
By the way, proton is NOT a cheap car. It is “cheap compared to other cars” due to the TAX DUTY …
Just take an example, Toyota Vios 1.5J (MT) cost you about RM 71,207.50 at Penisular Malaysia due to the TAX DUTY …. if compare to the price in Langkawi (duty free), it will only cost you RM 52,043.73
Hence, the statement proton is a cheap car, might not be accurate …
I guess Tun will delete this comment as usual …. hehe
The extra Ringgit you have to spend will be worth it.
It is very good news indeed. Do you think China, India and the Middle-East will find it so, Dr. Mahathir?
Sekian