BIG MOVES AFOOT? MAHATHIR HUDDLES WITH TYCOON SYED MOKHTAR, DRB & TOP GEELY BOSSES

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad met with tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, DRB-Hicom Bhd group chief executive officer Syed Faisal Albar Syed Ali Reza Albar and a top official from China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd this morning.

A government spokesperson told Malaysiakini that the meeting took place at the Yayasan Al-Bukhary in Kuala Lumpur.

However, details of the meeting were not revealed.

Syed Mokthar controls DRB-Hicom, which owns 50.1percent of national carmaker Proton while Geely has a 49.9 percent stake.

Mahathir, who founded Proton in 1983 during his first tenure as prime minister, had criticised the previous government over the deal with Geely last year.

In an emotional blog posting, he lamented that Malaysia had lost a national icon and Proton would now be a foreign brand.

In 2016, Mahathir had resigned as Proton advisor after falling out with former premier Najib Abdul Razak, who denied that his administration was turning its back on the ailing carmaker due to his differences with Mahathir.

Najib said as the country’s prime minister, he was willing to put aside politics and provide funds for R&D, as well as easy loans to continue to safeguard the welfare of Proton employees.

“The truth is, we never compromise on the country’s sovereignty, it is Proton’s right to take Geely as a strategic partner to ensure the future of Proton is full of hope.

“If we play with emotional sentiments alone, but fail and suffer loses in business, then it is a mentality that brings no benefit to the country,” he had said.

Following the May 9 general election, Mahathir said the government had no intention of buying back Proton, which once ruled Malaysian roads but has since been overtaken by other brands.

Speaking at the Nikkei conference in Tokyo on June 11, Mahathir said the new administration is exploring the possibility of starting another national car with the help of Southeast Asian countries.

“Our ambition is to start another national car, perhaps with some help from Southeast Asia.

“Malaysia has the capacity to do almost 100 percent of the development of a new automobile. This can be obtained by having foreign partners,” he added.

– M’kini