Malaysia told to end protection for Proton<\/p>\n
Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia<\/p>\n
Malaysia must abandon its nationalistic pride and drop
\nprotections for national carmaker Proton if it wants to build a
\nsuccessful auto industry, a senior official said in remarks
\npublished on Friday.<\/p>\n
Deputy Trade Minister Husni Hanadzlah was quoted by the New
\nStraits Times as saying that Malaysia should emulate South Korea,
\nwhich set up its car industry in 1975 and later lifted government
\nprotection to allow open competition.<\/p>\n
\"Today their (South Korean) cars are ranked 10th in the world.
\nThe Malaysian car industry is still struggling to stand on its
\nown after almost 20 years,\" he said during a parliament sitting.
\n\"We have to put our sentiments aside and open the industry sooner
\nor later.\"<\/p>\n
Members of parliament have complained that Proton cars were
\nproblematic and not competitive. They have urged Proton to
\nimprove its car quality and designs before trying to penetrate
\nthe international market.<\/p>\n
Proton was set up as a symbol of Malaysian self-reliance in
\nheavy industry but after 22 years, quality remains its biggest
\nshortcoming - something that was exposed as tariffs on foreign
\ncars are whittled down under a regional free trade pact.<\/p>\n
Its market share has dwindled from 57 percent in 1993 to
\naround 30 percent in June.<\/p>\n
Husni said the government currently only allowed the import of
\nhigher horsepower cars to reduce direction competition with
\nProton. Even then, import tariffs on these cars are still high
\nbetween 150 and 210 percent, he said.<\/p>\n
He urged the carmaker to buck up and accelerate plans to boost
\nits competitiveness ahead of the country's auto liberalization in
\nthree years.<\/p>\n
Proton, which sank into the red in the quarter ending June, is
\ncurrently in talks with German auto giant Volkswagen AG for a
\nproposed alliance that could bolster its fortunes and ensure its
\nlong-term survivability as foreign competition heats up.<\/p>\n
But some auto analysts warned Volkswagen may abort the
\nalliance if it can't obtain a majority stake and management
\ncontrol.<\/p>\n
Proton, controlled by the government's investment arm Khazanah
\nNasional Berhad, has said it is open to selling an equity stake
\nto Volkswagen but will not cede control to Europe's largest
\ncarmaker.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/malaysia-told-to-end-protection-for-proton-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}