[Malaysia] APs Used to Protect Foreign Cars?

APs used to 'protect' foreign cars?
Jun 8, 05 Malaysiakini

Is the government protecting foreign-made cars or national car manufacturer Proton? This is the question former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad wants answered. He claims that this is why he had requested for the list of Approved Permit (AP) holders to be made public.

Mahathir, who is now Proton adviser, further claimed that Proton’s competitiveness has been affected by completely-built-up (CBU) cars being imported at below cost. "I don't know how far it is true - CBU cars are being imported at below cost and sometimes even less than the cost of raw materials," he was quoted as saying by Bernama.

Against such a scenario, he said "a lot of people said Proton is protected, but we sometimes dispute it... there should be a level-playing field when competing".

The former premier was asked to comment on Proton's sales and export performance and the reasons why he wanted the list of recipients of APs to be made public.

"We can't understand this (cars sold at below cost). That is why we ask the list of APs be made public, then we will know whether the foreign-made cars are being protected or Proton is being protected,” he said.

"I don't like people to make accusations against the government, that is why I want the list to be made public, but that's just my opinion, it's all right if that is not the policy.”

He also conceded that Proton would not be protected forever.

Proton’s performance

Asked why he asked for the AP list be divulged when it was not done during his tenure as premier, he said: "When I was accused of cronyism, I revealed all the recipients of the contracts to silence the critics. It turned out that those who made accusations against the government of practicing cronyism were the ones who benefitted from the contracts."

He said the AP system was in force even before he became prime minister.

"My son is an AP holder, but I can tell you because he is my son," he added, referring to his second son, Mokhzani, whose company is an importer of Porche.

Asked about criticism over Proton's poor performance in export markets, he said it was not so easy to explain.

"Initially, we wanted to introduce Proton to foreign markets, so it was sold cheaply so that it entered Europe and other markets. As the market grew and Proton became better, we no longer priced it below the cost (and) naturally, there was a dip in sales.

"On the other hand, we lose less now as we are no longer selling at below costs as our objectives are different now. But compared with other Malaysian branded products, I think Proton is better.

"We produce 35,000 cars initially in the beginning, but now we are producing more than 200,000 units, you cannot say we are not making money.”

Mahathir also called for imports from China to be restricted to offset the national carmaker's difficulties in entering the vast Chinese market.

"I am not complaining about China. That is their policy but if they are protecting, we have to be protective also," he told reporters.