KUALA LUMPUR: Proton chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has called on Malaysians to test the latest Proton cars to learn of their capabilities.
Mahathir posted this in his blog after officiating the first firing of a new engine for Proton in the United Kingdom.
He said Proton's Campro engine was now more than 10 years old, and the production of a new engine was something to celebrate.
"But unfortunately, journalists do not see the significance of this event.
"We used to export quite a lot of Proton cars to the UK," he said.
However, after new emission and fuel efficiency standards were introduced, he claimed, Proton was no longer able to sell any Proton cars in the UK.
Mahathir said Proton was aware of the negative perception of its cars in the Malaysian market.
He lambasted the attitude of certain car purchasers, saying that they did not have pride in a Malaysian made car.
"This is especially among owners of imported cars. Nothing can persuade them to buy Proton cars. Certainly pride in a Malaysian made car is not with them.
"The proof of the pudding is in the eating. And so it is with Proton’s new cars. You need to drive them to know their capability. I drive the Iriz and the Suprima S and believe me I enjoy driving them. The Iriz especially has electric powered steering. It is very light. It responds quickly to the accelerator," he added.
In his blog posting, Mahathir also said that Proton was not the cause behind expensive cars in Malaysia.
"When you buy a local car, money stays in the country, workers earn money, dealers and agents and their employees enjoy the business they do and the local economy grows. Thousands of families enjoy a good life," he said.
He said that if all the local industries were closed, few will have money to buy imported things.
"We will revert into being a failed third world country," he said.