Dr M: Proton-Geely deal the beginning of the 'great sell-out'

The deal to sell a stake of national car maker Proton to China's Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd is probably the beginning of the great-sell-out, warned Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The former premier, who is the architect of Proton, said in a blog posting today that Malaysians may eventually lose the country.

“As I slip into my final years, or month or days, I will watch as our beloved country is sold to foreigners to settle the trillion ringgits that we owe. We will have to sell more and more of our country.

“What are our assets? Our land of course! That was what we did in the past. We sold chunks of our country. We lost the land we sold. That is what we are doing now. And that will be what we will have to do – or forfeit our country; like we forfeit Proton,” he lamented. 

“It is probably the beginning of the great sell-out. The process is inexorable. No other way can we earn the billions to pay our debts. The only way is to sell our assets. And eventually we will lose our country, a great country no doubt, but owned by others,” he remarked.

Mahathir said, with the deal, Proton can no longer be considered the national car, or icon. 

[More to follow]

-Mkini