On the contrary, Minister of Entrepreneur Development Redzuan Yusof said its creation would lead to a domino effect that will ultimately benefit ordinary Malaysians.
Redzuan, who has made skills-training a major focus of his ministry said the new national car project would trigger a series of job opportunities as well as offer a platform to train Malaysians with new skills.
“It is the wish of the government that these sectors, together with the growth of SMEs, will drive and become the new engine of growth for the Malaysian economy,” he told FMT recently.
“New training and internship programmes in developed countries will be devised to meet these objectives,” he said.
There have been mixed reactions to the idea for a third national car as mooted by Mahathir, who in 1985 launched Proton as Malaysia’s first national car.
Critics say the project is risky, saying Proton was a living example of how the automative industry is not a wise venture after it was forced to sell its stake to Chinese carmaker Geely in the wake of losses.
They also argue that Malaysia should look towards other industries in an age where many countries are moving away from manufacturing.
Redzuan said a key misunderstanding about the third national car is on the nature of the government’s involvement in the project.
He said it would be a private sector initiative to provide support for local auto component manufacturers.
“The government only wishes to facilitate and raise the standards of the local automotive vendor programme to a level in which they can play a significant role in meeting the demands of the international car manufacturers,” he said.
He said Malaysia was well-placed to become a world class producer of automotive components with competitive pricing.
He said by boosting the local auto component manufacturing sector, they could then serve as the launchpad for many other localisation programmes in other sectors, including for rail construction, aviation and green technologies.
“Are these not the right recipes for meeting the welfare needs of the population?” Redzuan asked critics.