Melbert Wants to Upgrade an Oven!

ust how much more backing does Proton Holdings Bhd need from the government? The statement by no less than Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak that all senior ministry officials and state government excos must use the national car must have come as a relief to Proton.

Najib was quoted as saying that this was a long-standing policy and the Cabinet would meet to discuss the decision by the Terengganu state government to buy 14 Mercedes Benz E200 Kompressor cars for RM3.43 million.

It does not matter how many times complaints have been brought against the national carmaker for the apparent lack of quality of its vehicles. It also does not matter that Minister for International Trade and Industry Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin only a week ago commented on Proton's vendor system where a study showed that the component costs were 50% higher than in Japan.

The minister had expressed surprise at Proton's higher component costs as Japan was an expensive cost centre. Muhyiddin was also reported as saying that while it was necessary to give some recognition to develop national cars, it should not be at the expense of the entire industry.

Terengganu Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said has defended the state's decision to purchase the Mercedes to replace its Proton Perdana V6 Executive fleet as a cost-saving measure. Ahmad had said the German cars were cheaper to maintain, would save on fuel costs and had higher second-hand value.

It is bad enough that the public has had to put up with Proton's shortcomings all these years and yet supported the company, both via direct purchases and in tax ringgit funding of government acquisition of Proton cars. How long more does this have to go on?

Instead of jumping the gun and calling for a Cabinet meeting to discuss the move by Terengganu, perhaps the government would do well to consider Ahmad's explanation as to how much it cost to maintain the Perdana fleet.

Proton needs to extricate itself from the situation of being perceived as receiving preferential treatment from the government, and compete on a level playing field, offering the right car for the right market at the right price, as it says nowadays.

That means components and parts must be priced at the right level and not 50% higher than in Japan, as Muhyiddin pointed out.

And if the government is indeed serious about saving costs, it should let all automotive players bid for the supply of vehicles, including for ministers and state excos.

The government would not be abandoning Proton by exercising prudence in buying its fleet of vehicles at the best price available, taking into account future maintenance costs.

The national carmaker has to prove itself worthy of getting contracts that involve taxpayers' money, and it can start by ensuring that