KHAZANAH NASIONAL TO BE BLAMED FOR PROTON'S DOWNFALL

Dato' Abdul Rahman Dahlan said in an article posted by the Star, (an extract of which, was posted at the bottom), that Dr M must answer for Proton's colossal failure; I feel the need to clarify.

1. Proton was the no 1 car maker when Tun Mahathir was the Prime Minister. 

2. Proton went downhill under Tun Abdullah Badawi premiership whom was also the Minister of Finance, the holding company of Khazanah Nasional whom was at that time, the biggest shareholder of Proton Holdings Berhad. Dato Mohammed Azlan Hashim was appointed by Khazanah Nasional as Proton Chairman and was tasked to remove Tengku Mahaleel as Proton Managing Director.
3. Dato Mohammed Azlan Hashim succeeded in removing Tengku Mahaleel when his predecessor, also a Khazanah Nasional appointee Dato Abu Hasan Kendut had failed. When Tengku Mahaleel was removed, he left Proton with RM4b in cash reserves.

4. Proton lost to Perodua as the number 1 car maker under Dato Mohammed Azlan Hashim when Khazanah Nasional was the biggest shareholder and in control of Proton.

5. Khazanah Nasional, via Dato Mohammed Azlan Hashim had reversed Tengku Mahaleel's decision to terminate EON as Proton distributor when EON refused to contribute to the R&D funds requested by Proton after the government stopped giving R&D grants for proton development. 

6. This resulted in a sales network with more than 400 dealers representation in Malaysia. This was the most destructive decision that weakens the once a strong dealership network and the start of a series of catastrophe.

SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT BAIL OUT PROTON?

Proton Edar Sdn Bhd (PESB) has appointed 52 years old Rohimee Shafie as its 11th Chief Executive Officer. Most of Proton Edar Dealers Association Malaysia (PEDA) committee members have been around since the first Proton Edar Sdn Bhd (formerly known as USPD) Chief Executive Officer, Dato Rashid Rahim. As PEDA President, I have served under 6 of the former 10 CEOs and have served all 10 CEOs as PEDA committee member, Vice-President and Deputy President. We have also been under former Proton Holdings Berhad (Proton) Managing Director Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel, Proton Joint COO Dato Kisai Rahmat & Dato Kamarulzaman Darus, Proton MD Dato Sri Syed Zainal Abidin, Proton CEO Datuk Lukman Ibrahim and Dato Harith Abdullah. PEDA welcomes and look forward to work closely with Dato Ahmad Fuaad as the new Proton CEO.

We have seen various policies that destroys the dealers network and policies that really improved our total sales. Unfortunately, everytime a new CEO was appointed, we have to start the same bad and the good policies all over again. Ironically, arrogance and ego took the best of any newly appointed. Despite the promises made by Tan Sri Khamil Jamil when DRB-Hicom first bought over Proton, to be dealercentric, in reality Proton & PESB Management took the dealers network (except for a few favorite dealers with special treatment), akin of a thorn in a bed of roses. With plummeting sales (up to the point where dealers can hardly break even), stricter parameters were introduced restricting further dealers whom are hungry for business, to do sales.

Since DRB-Hicom took over Proton in 2012, Proton car sales has been downhill from a total sales of 141,120 in 2012, 138,753 in 2013, 115,782 in 2014 and last year 2015, Proton hit its lowest sales record of only 102,175.

Personally, I don't think DRB-Hicom management style works at Proton. There is no empowerment and decisions took longer than in the past. Reaction and responses to market sentiment is poor and do not get me started on the production deliverables of cars to be delivered to Proton car buyer. The mismatching of customers order to manufacturing production worsens on the backdrop of non-availability of cars for the dealers to sell. The communication channel from top management to the middle management and to the dealers were distorted. Whatever that was resolved and discussed between PEDA and top management was not properly minuted and communicated to middle management as well as the dealers network. With an already over congested dealers network, the addition of 29 Suzuki dealers adds on alot more burden.