Driven to Success in the Car Game

Eric Ellis, Shah Alam

12/13/1993

NAZIS SALLEH is no ordinary chief executive. It's not his age that sets him apart, although 39 is young by any standard to be steering a multinational carmaker.

Its not even his group's performance that gives him an edge, even though $A247.21 million in profits last year would leave his counterparts at Ford or General Motors green with envy.

The chief executive of Malaysia's hugely successful National Car Project, Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional or Proton, is driven like his ultimate boss, Malaysia's feisty Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, by a higher-minded goal-a patriotic duty to thrust Malaysia into the ranks of the developed world. Indeed, it's a duty that in part explains the hyper-sensitivity felt by Malaysia over Paul Keating's "recalcitrant" remark.

In the Mahathir psyche, the West and its sophisticated industrial base looks down on the developing world as sub-standard.

Successes like Proton show that Malaysians can lead the South in the West's own game; perhaps, one day, overtake it.

Enshrined as one of Proton's corporate objectives is to "assist and develop Bumiputera (ethnic Malay) participation in the automotive industry".

"We are a developing country," says the energetic Nadzmi, who recently took from a Japanese as chief executive. "We are proud we can do things on our own. With our present leadership, we aspire to be one of those industrialised countries. That is what Dr Mahathir's Vision 2020 is all about."

Just eight years after the first car rolled off the Japanese-built line, Proton is the world's 19th largest carmaker, only one of two in the top 20 from a predominantly Islamic country (the other is Turkey's joint venture with Fiat of Italy).

With its vast plant rising out of the former swamplands on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur at Shah Alam, the Proton phenomenon is far from the stuff of a misguided developing world ambition of an Nkrumah or even a Mao.

The spotless factory is more like something found on the industrial plains of a Tokyo or an Osaka, not surprising since Proton has been carefully nurtured by Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation. The five Proton models borrow liberally from Mitsubishi's Lancer.

KL's taxi drivers, Malaysia's most astute judges, graciously describe the first model, the Saga, as "not bad" and the latest one, the Wira, as "quite good".

Dr Mahathir drives around in a stretched Wira; it was Australian technology that did the stretching.

This correspondent is no motoring expert but many a long hour in KL cabs this past fortnight has revealed a comfortable ride and interior, adequate power around town, but somewhat lacking on the open road. The new model Wira Aeroback is a smart-looking car, particularly in red or black.

Buying a Proton has become as much a national duty as it is an exercise in household thrift. Three out of four cars on Malaysian roads are Protons - a market share achieved in large part by the duty breaks only Proton gets on the 20 per cent of components which are still largely from Japan and Korea.

An even greater advantage are the enormous import tariffs, some as high as 300 per cent, which Malaysia exacts on foreign car importers to protect Proton.

Nadzmi says that "little by little" the playing field of the Malaysian car industry will be levelled, enabling fairer competition from other manufacturers.

His response is to export. Proton is soon to introduce a left-hand driver version of the Wira for Europe and Latin America market.

Assembly in Vietnam and Chile is also proposed.