Thursday 13 October 2016

Maybe Dr Mahathir wouldn't mind the Japanese too much

In his latest post,

PENTADBIRAN KUKU BESI

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad among others wrote these,

7. Orang-orang Proton tidak dibenar bercakap dengan saya, dan peniaga kenalan saya tidak dibenar mengadakan business dengan Proton. Tujuan Najib ialah supaya Proton bankrap dan boleh dijual dengan murah.

8. Nama saya tidak boleh dikait dengan Proton. Proton hendaklah dijual kepada orang asing 100% supaya industri kereta nasional dihapuskan. Hanya kereta import sahaja yang boleh dijual di Malaysia. Jangan ada apa-apa yang dimula oleh saya. Biar hancur industri tempatan asalkan Najib puas hati.

He basically said that the government wants to kill off Proton because PM DS Najib Razak is angry with him.

I'm not very sure if Dr Mahathir is really accurate on this one.


Okay, maybe it's true that Najib couldn't care less about Proton as it is a Dr Mahathir's baby, but I highly doubt it that he wanted to kill off the company just out of spite.

There are tens of thousands who depend on Proton for livelihood and I don't think Najib is that stupid to incur their wrath with the general election not that far from now.

There should be a more rationale reason for the whole thing.

As we all know, Proton is undoubtedly bleeding and the government has to help it financially to survive.

I don't think this is what we want of Proton.

We want the national car maker that we are proud of to do well.

So, I was not overly distressed when I read this story last month,

DRB-Hicom to sell as much as 51% stake in Proton


I think that's to accommodate a potential foreign partner to come in and help Proton.

That's what the government wants as it can't go on helping Proton.

At least that's how I understand it.

Of course the potential foreign partner will want some control over Proton to make things work, thus that 51 per cent stake.

I don't see anything wrong with that.

It's better that way than letting Proton suffer the way it is now.

I think a reliable foreign partner will do good for the company, particularly in correcting the bad practices currently plaguing the company which brought down the Proton badge in the eyes of even Malaysians.

For example, a foreign partner with controlling power can get rid of vendors who supply substandard parts for the Proton cars.

I was made to understand that many of these vendors got their work with Proton via political connections and no matter how bad they performed in supplying parts for the cars, they were always retained.

Proton people can't get rid of them because they would pull their "cables" to stay on the job.

That's how Proton cars became famous for their faulty power windows, cheap plastic interior, making funny noises just weeks after purchase, etc.

When my father bought his Preve, the GPS unit which came with it was almost useless. I borrowed the car to go to Teluk Intan during the by-election there and the GPS map only showed half of the town.

I conclude that the vendor who supplied the GPS system must be one of those who got the contract by pulling their political cables.

Now, a foreign partner with controlling stake can kick out such useless vendors as they would not be subjected to external pressure from any local politician.

They wouldn't care less if some division chiefs complain to Najib that their proxy companies acting as Proton vendors got their contract terminated.

They will just want to get the cars made the best way possible and that definitely can do without bad vendors.

I was made to understand that potential foreign partners approached by Proton want exactly that.

The Japanese ones in particular.

They will not want to come in if they can't control the quality of the cars.

I think it's for the best.

And I trust the Japanese more than the French and Chinese, who were said to be the other potential partners.

French - remember the terrible Tiara model which was done with Citreon.

Chinese - Chinese cars good meh?

And I think even Dr Mahathir will not be too angry if Proton is being controlled to a certain extent by the Japanese.

After all, he always wants us Malaysians to be ethical and disciplined like the Japanese.

Really, it is better that way then letting Proton to continue dying an agonising death.

This is something we have to be rationale about.

Hopefully, one of Dr Mahathir's more sincere advisors can coax him to accept the reality about Proton.

That way, the handsome old man may not be too stressed by the whole thing.

Come on guys, he's 91, okay.

Well, at least that's how I see it.

27 comments:

  1. You know what Annie, until recently Malaysia is the only Muslim country in the world whose producing and manufacturing their own cars.
    Turkey joined the club in 2006 with Etox. Turkey with thousand of years of history, the cradle of world's civilazations, Ottoman's empire streching from East to the West only started their automatice industry some 23 years after us. It means something isn't? It showed how far ahead his thinking at that time. He's simply ahead of time.

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    1. the first protons were world class, remember. car of the year in UK - twice. UK police cars were protons. Then Tun let others run the show, and so hancurlah.

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    2. 13:49, You are right. It started very well.

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    3. Govt cash injection to save Proton.....1.5 billion ringgit

      Amount stolen from 1MDB......17 billion ringgit (if follow the OSA-ed A-G Report, the figure is 28 billion missing)

      fikir fikirlah.

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    4. The first Protons were Japanese cars, actually. Mitsubishi Lancer Fiore Sedan, rebadged.

      So we've done the Japanese tie-up already.

      I think they are eyeing Suzuki now.

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  2. Hey Annie, how come Arul Kanda is free to travel from one campus to another having a tour on his own explaining 1MDB matters organized by JASA which is an outfit under KKM? Azalina a minister in charge of law had at one time said 1MDB's matter could no longer be raised and discussed in public because it's considered subjudice to ongoing probe?
    IGP said the police had completed the first phase of the investigation. They now move on to the next phase. One phase took a year and a half. How many years are they gonna take for the next phase? And how many phases are there before the investigation will be completed? The only high profile case which has phases in their investigations. This is beyond ridiculous. It doesn't make sense. Can someone care to explain to me?

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    1. Easy. The Pandi is pooping in its cage because the whole world is seeing how he's dragging his feet.

      'If you toss into the mix Singapore prosecutors' hauling up of four people to court for over 25 offences including money laundering, cheating, corruption and forgery, and freezing of assets worth S$240 million in the ongoing 1MDB probe, it makes Malaysia, where the multi-layered and circuitous flow of funds all began, look even worse.

      The inaction by the country's regulators on the mammoth financial controversy that has gripped the nation for over a year is even harder to fathom when viewed against action by Swiss and US jurisdictions, which have alleged that US$3.5 billion (S$4.83 billion) to US$4 billion (S$5.5 billion) have been embezzled from 1MDB's coffers.

      Perhaps, the most discomfiting juxtaposition of Malaysia and Singapore - which now share close bilateral ties and can't escape being compared given their shared history - came from Switzerland last week.

      The Office of the Attorney General said that it was fully satisfied with Singapore's help in providing information for its criminal proceedings in the 1MDB case, in what it recently concluded was part "Ponzi" scheme.

      But the praise appeared relatively (deliberately so?) thick as on the same note, the Swiss regulator indicated that the Malaysian Attorney-General has yet to respond, some nine months after help was requested under a mutual treaty.'

      Kemaluan says amat besar.

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    2. but how long can pandi delay it? the funniest part was where he dropped bibirpink in even hotter soup at the press conference by holding up charts that showed the Bugis crook had songlap-ed EVEN MORE THAN PREVIOUSLY KNOWN from SRC. pure comedy gold.

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    3. Sikit pun najib tak takut. Hati dia dah hitam. Dah takde rasa apa dah. Saman ke ..hamun ke ..sikit pun dia tak peduli. Dia ni nampak je pandai tapi sebenarnya bodoh yg amat. Dahlah bodoh ..sombong lak tu. Adik beradik dia pun sama je. Janganlah tertipu dengan nazir ke ..nazim ke ..semuanya penyangak. Semua subahat. Kita doalah pembalasan yg adil kat najib dengan adik beradik dia.

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    4. kih kih kih.......ade siastan lagi ke? dorang buat sandiwara jer........tapi sedikit demi sedikit semuanya akan terburai jua...Najib sudah goyang ….. Siapa Pak Arab itu langsung Najib tak pernah cerita. Zahid juga sudah goyang ….. Siapa Pak Arab yang dia pi jumpa dulu? SPRM juga kena jawab....Siapa wakil penderma yang SPRM jumpa dulu? Bole jawab smua nih ke?

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    5. "Janganlah tertipu dengan nazir"...The Seven Millon Dollar Man....hehehe

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    6. This "Seven Millon Dollar Man" I cannot believe CIMB cleared him. How can CEO use his own bank as a clearing house? But not as crooked as Jibby I guess. Nobody is : )

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    7. Najib mmg crook lah...hanya ada standard dalam bab menipu dan mencuri!

      Dia adalah PM pertama di dunia yang telah berjaya memporak-perandakan sistem kewangan dan perbankan dunia. Malah sebuah bank berusia lebih 100 tahun ditutup dibuatnya.

      Walaupun satu dunia tahu penipuan dan kes curi wang negara oleh Najib & Jho Low tapi pihak berkuasa di negara kita yang dahulunya dikenali sebagai yang terbaik didunia tidak berbuat apa2.

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  3. 'I was made to understand that many of these vendors got their work with Proton via political connections and no matter how bad they performed in supplying parts for the cars, they were always retained.

    Proton people can't get rid of them because they would pull their "cables" to stay on the job.'

    Exact;y how MAS operated. Then Mr German came and & said "Nein!". Then they kicked Mr German out and put an Irish crook from a really crap Irish airline. Now things are back to "rezeki"-land.

    Don't come to Malaysia unless you are prepared to be as corrupt as MO1 lah. He's a global pariah now. WEF & UN tak berani tunjuk muka. "Everything2Hide"

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    Replies
    1. anyone who tries to clean malaysia or GLCs will fail. the fish is rotten from the head. and the smell of fat hippo dung is all over the nation. what to do lah? remove hippo and then only start washing the filth away.

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    2. "Then Mr German came and & said "Nein!" You know where that Muller guy went? Emirates. I think he got a better job, rite? You would choose MAS over Emirates? Smart guy to escape.

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  4. Sumbangan paling besar proton kepada negara adalah kini rakyat Malaysia know how to build car from scratch. Know what is like to manufacture a car, put all the components and sell it. This little known third world country is bold and foolish enough to dream of manufacturing their own cars. And we did.
    This know-how car technology is not easy to get for any country unless the country itself becomes making and producing cars. Even Singapore don't have this kind of experience. A unique one indeed. Only those who have an experience building cars only know the feelings. The unique feelings on how to manufacture a car from the very bottom of the chain right up to when it reaches the hands of its customers. It showed how far ahead Mahathir was thinking at that time.
    Kepada menteri-menteri yang bercakap tunjuk pandai pasal proton, even if billions have been spent, at least we have a national car and a car industry with tangible products which can be touched and seen with the likes of Saga, Wira, Iswara, Perdana, Savvy, Persona, Preve, Gen2 lining up our roads and highways since 1980s.
    Compared to 1MDB, billions of debt rake up after six years, please show one product which can been seen and proud of?
    With proton we have local car industry, manufactured by our own people and helmed by our own industry players. Dengan adanya proton 50 ribu peluang pekerjaan diwujudkan pada satu-satu masa dan menjadi punca rezeki yang halal untuk mereka bawa balik bagi makan anak bini. Dari mereka yang bekerja menyapu lantai di kilang-kilang proton hinggalah kepada vendor yang menjual alat-alar ganti semuanya mendapat manfaat dengan adanya proton.
    Itu belum masuk lagi pekerja-pekerja proton yang dah pencen dan berhenti sejak proton mula ditubuhkan pada tahun 1985. Kiralah dah banyak mana proton berjasa kepada rakyat dan negara ini. Mungkin dah berpuluh juta rakyat Malaysia yang mendapat manfaat dari proton dan tumpang cari makan dengan proton.
    Ya, benar kerajaan mungkin telah habis berbilion-bilion ringgit untuk proton tetapi dimana duit berbilion-bilion itu dihabiskan? dimana duit berbilion-bilion itu mengalir? Adakah duit itu digunakan itu beli tanah-tanah kerajaan dengan murah kemudian jual semula dengan harga mahal? Adakah duit berbilion-bilion itu lesap tanpa jalan cerita? Adakah duit berbillion-bilion itu di bawa keluar ke luar negara dan disimpan dalam shell companies di tax haven countries seperti Caymen Islands dan British Virgin Islands kononya untuk dibuat pelaburan?
    Duit berbilion-bilion yang proton terima dihabiskan disini di Malaysia dan dihabiskan tang tang tu juga. Duit tu stay dalam negara dan dilaburkan kepada rakyat negara ini juga. Proton guna duit tu untuk manfaat rakyat Malaysia juga yang menjadi tenaga penyelidik dalam pembangunan proton, perancang, pekerja, penggerak proton dan tunjang kekuatan proton selama ini dalam menghadapi saingan industri kereta sekarang yang maha sengit.
    Duit berbilion-bilion itu berpindah dari tangan ke tangan rakyat negara ini dan lupus dan hangus dalam negara juga dengan berjuta-juta rakyat Malaysia mendapat menfaat.
    Hanya mereka yang berada dalam negara sahaja yang mendapat faedah. Dana berbilion-bilion ringgit tersebut hanya berpusing-pusing dalam negara untuk dinikmati sesama rakyat jelata dan tidak mengalir keluar sekaligus dapat membendung aliran keluar kekayaan negara yang hanya menguntungkan pihak luar.
    Apabila polisi negara menggalakkan import seperti yang berlaku sekarang, bukan saja industri dalam negara tidak berkembang, peluang pekerjaan juga tidak tercipta, tiada pertumbuhan ekonomi bahkan negara juga kehilangan berbilion ringgit due to illicit outflow of money. Jadi belilah barang-barang keluaran tempatan, berjenama tempatan and help our industry and economy.

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  5. During the sleeping beauty times, Proton was near to partner with Volkswagen, but the Tingkat 4 killed it. The China manufacturer was interested not long ago but they were rejected by whisky king.

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    1. VW would have been a good partner. Why not try some German tie-up? Audi Opel BMW, etc. Just for tech transfer. Japanese, Hmmmm, there was issues with Toyota & Honda safety, rite? Not so canggih now? Try German!

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  6. PUTRAJAYA:  After a surprise 45-minute meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday, President Mugabe announced he was so impressed after learning of the Malaysian leader’s brainchild wealth fund, he would soon launch a Zimbabwean one of his own.

    “Having a One Zimbabwean Development Board (1ZDB) will be the perfect way to enrich our impoverished nation and win our own 2018 election,” explained Zimbabwean Democratic Minister Of Ballot Stuffing, Dr Trustworthy Fineface,

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    1. 1ZDB...ha ha ha! I thot this was a real news item at first...LOLOL

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    2. Curse of the Mappadulung and Mophead ... Burn!!!

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFDoAjz5gIQ

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    3. OMG!!

      I think Mugabe has just learnt a new way to screw Zimbabwe - 1ZDB :)

      Gladiator

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  7. Annie,

    The Piglet has posted her recycled yellow vs red jelly baby post for about the 2,367th time.

    ***yawn***

    She cannot even move her massive slab of flab to do anything remotely original.

    Cut, paste, repeat.

    Cut, paste, repeat.

    Ohhhh, yes, and sprinkle in one of her 3 Arabic words to underline her Ustazah credentials.

    Ustazah Blobby knows these words:

    a) Ummah
    b) Dajjal
    c) Nawaitu

    She can hold a char siew pau in one hand and type these words with the other.

    Cut, paste, repeat.

    Cut, paste, repeat.

    The walruses from Canada have died of sheer boredom.

    Maybe she'll eat their carcasses too.

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    Replies
    1. mdzfrs,

      //The walruses from Canada have died of sheer boredom.//

      Yupe, just had a look and every single one of those Canadian walrus bots have disappeared!!

      //Maybe she'll eat their carcasses too.//

      Well, no sign of any carcasses so she eaten them.

      No wonder she is starting to look like a walrus herself.

      Gladiator

      Delete
  8. Sadly Annie, Jibby is THAT stupid!

    Fat Soh can't resist that pix. Looks like jellybeans or gummibears? Fooooood...

    BTW, anyone downloaded Jibby's app?

    Seriously, the sucking up, brown nosing proposals...mind boggling.

    Thai king just died. He was a true leader. No need apps, bodek, dedak etc to win support. Jibby can only fantasise.

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  9. Annie,

    The very noble aim of creating a national icon out of Proton is long dead.

    Today, Proton exists only to make a handful of people filthy rich from supplying grossly overpriced components to it.

    As someone said, the best way to fix problems with a Proton is with a can of petrol and a box of matches.

    My prediction is that nobody would want to buy Proton outright nor enter into any partnership with it.

    My guess is that the Proton plant and equipment are antiquated, its R & D is woeful, its supply chain is hopelessly compromised, its workforce is ill-trained, its international distribution network is virtually non-existent, etc etc.

    There just seems to be no value in Proton unless...

    The new buyer/ partner gets lotsa tax breaks and lotsa government funding and lotsa government protection.

    But then, how would that help our economy?

    Maybe Proton could be losing less money if it just paid its employees to stay at home.

    That way, no need to spend money on running the plant, no need to pay for overpriced components, no need to pay for supporting a dealer network, no need for anything except salaries.

    Gladiator

    ReplyDelete