“Our problem is not the cars. Our problem is people’s perception that Proton does not produce good cars,” he said.

“Our cars are as good as any imported car, but people are still not driving it,” he lamented during a press conference after officiating Proton’s first firing of the GDi/TGDi engine via live telecast from England.

Dr Mahathir conceded that Proton did have quality issues in the past, notably faulty windows in some of its models, but pointed out these issues had been resolved.

He emphasised that quality is at the centre of the newer Proton models, now fitted with the latest technology to give people a better and safer drive.

He also praised our local engineers, noting that they are on par with their international counterparts: “Malaysian engineers have learnt a lot. Our engineers are just as qualified and as skilful as engineers from other countries.”

The former prime minister also added that he is a happy owner of the Proton Iriz and Suprema S, and shared his personal experience: “I drive the Iriz and Suprema S every weekend and I enjoy them very much.”