Perodua boss weighs in on Proton's 'special discount' for Hokkien guild

Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) chief executive officer Aminar Rashid Salleh has weighed in on the issue of Proton's special discount for members of the Federation of Hokkien Associations of Malaysia which courted brickbats and allegations of racism.

Aminar Rashid could not help but laugh when asked for his comments on the matter during a press conference in Shah Alam this morning.

He said when organisations and companies purchase Perodua cars in bulk, the automotive firm provided them with a “package deal”.

“We are in business. We do fleet sales, we do government sales, direct sales... and there are people who buy in bulk.

“For example... when there are organisations and companies which buy in bulk, we give them a package deal. Not necessarily in the form of discounts but we look at it in totality.

“Discounts could be possible but sometimes, they have old cars to trade in. We have fleet customers, if it (the cars) are due for a change, they come back to us... we give them a good package, including after sales (services),” he said.

Following the negative reactions, Proton yesterday clarified that it has a special discount policy for corporate sales and fleet sales customers.

“It is a common business practice in the automotive industry to offer corporate sales discounts based on bulk purchase and fleet sales.

“Therefore, the special offer given to the Federation of Hokkien Associations of Malaysia forms part of the special corporate sales arrangement for fleet sales customers,” it said in a statement.

Proton said any cooperatives, organisations, and associations that buy a certain volume of cars are entitled to the corporate sales special arrangement.

Chinese daily Nanyang Siang Pau reported that Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd (PONSB) chief executive officer Li Chunrong (photo) announced the discount during a dinner with local Hokkien businesspersons last week.

"Any Malaysian of Fujian origin who purchases Proton cars will enjoy our most preferential prices ever," he was quoted as saying.

Proton was founded by Dr Mahathir Mohamad in his third year as prime minister in 1983 to spearhead Malaysia's automotive industry.

Although initially successful, poor business decisions have led to multiple government bailouts. Half the government's equity stake was eventually sold to China's Geely Holdings last year.

- Mkini