REMEMBER PERWAJA? NOW IT IS PROTON’S TURN

Umar Mukhtar

The market is abuzz with the SOS call of Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional (PROTON) requesting from the government for a bailout of RM1.7 billion within the next few months, otherwise it may have to close shop.

Now the government is expected to bailout private entities? I thought PROTON was sold to some Syed Mokhtar’s outfit? If it has made billions, it would have never shared that profit with us. Now that it is losing, we share the burden?

Why would anybody buy a black-hole? You bought it because it was supposed to make you money. Wrong plans? Wrong execution? Or just plain dumb? Is a government bail-out part of the game-plan and was that declared to the government at the point of sale? Who is this stupid ass?

No wonder! PROTON’s Chief Executive is the King of Government Bailouts, Executive  Chairman Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. Now he is embarking to teach us and rewriting economic books on how to succeed in business which lacks economic fundamentals by recognising that government bail-outs is a factor of production.

When PROTON was first mooted ages ago, in spite of warnings by economists, he told us the small and medium scale industries created will turn Malaysia into an industrialised country. When economics of scale nearly forced PROTON to close down, it was argued that these small scale industries that must be saved and must supply goods to somebody. A lesson in Mahathir’s self-serving perverse logic.

At least now our technically qualified engineers are acquainted with car-making? Wow, what an expensive school which thriving car producing countries like Thailand and Indonesia do not have. It’s all in the economies of scale Mr. Adam Smith-wannabe Mahathir. Perwaja is another case in point. Wanting to re-write economic books and yet naively buying expensive prototype furnaces and be a Japanese experiment that failed.

Mahathir’s reasonings are always laughable. Like privatising Malaysia Airlines to Tajudin Ramli because Mahathir wanted to see a padi farmer’s son owning an airline. Like wanting to build the most ridiculous crooked bridge in the world just to tell Lee Kuan Yew how his dick is bigger than LKY’s. A losing foray into the international tin market to tell the market-makers who is boss.

I would leave all these alone as water under the bridge, and not dwelling over someone’s ridiculously stupid mistakes. Until he suddenly tried to portray himself as Mister Clean and Concern over usage of public funds. Not because his concern of why it is wrong to screw the public but more so that the much-aware public now may elect someone else as the government. Damn this social media.

Well, he ain’t getting the RM1.7 billion, whatever rationale he uses in his old age. I suggest if he really thinks it is the smartest idea, why doesn’t he injects the amount from his vast elect-Mukhriz reservoir in exchange for shares? Don’t just be a smart-Alec with other people’s money.

Maybe your excuse this time will be to allow PROTON to provide employment to the thousands of laid-off MAS workers which are suffering as an indirect result of your smart-ass legacy. Whatever, but first, clean up PROTON from corruptive incestous relationships between even its middle-level executives and vendors and contractors. The whole world knows that.

However, ever considered selling PROTON’s billion ringgit assets to really serious car-makers and recover your investments? That’s not new to Syed Mokhtar, having considered selling the land given by the government supposedly for a university which conveniently closed after the land-grant.

Or best still, you can just resign and play with your grandchildren, now that your beloved adopted Pashtun kids whom you have saved from abject poverty to be exemplary human beings.