Other national car companies and even non-national car companies in Malaysia with full factory and after-sales services have never “baby-sat” their dealers like Proton has all these years. During the good times in the early years, they all became overnight millionaires. Only the “privileged” and the “connected” could get a Proton dealership.

Only a handful of “real” businesspeople were Proton dealers, and this handful are surviving today without baby-sitting services from Proton – a company that never fails to hold their hand, walk them out of the darkness and fund them month after month.

Remember the good old days when Proton dealers would just sit in their showrooms taking bookings without looking after their customers?

Remember the time when you asked your dealer for a particular colour and he said, “Take what we have or you can leave as there are plenty of other customers”?

Remember the time when:

• Your new Proton power window failed just weeks after purchase.
• Or the sticker that you were “forced” to pay for at the side of the car would peel off.
• Or the Blaupunkt head-unit would fail.
• Or the car alarm would keep going off in the middle of the night and you could only shut it off by disconnecting the power cable from the battery.
• Or the roof lining would start sagging after just a few months?

Now these same people want more handouts… from a company that has been bleeding from lack of sales while the internal staff at the Proton headquarters and its corporate owners work tirelessly to keep the brand, image and sales moving forward.

Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd (Geely) buying into this troubled company was the best thing that ever happened to the brand, and we hope that the management of Geely will maintain the Proton headquarters’ headcount and allow them to breathe easier and reward them soon for their tireless enthusiasm in keeping the brand moving along.

As for the “babies” – we say, get rid of the crybabies, find new partners (there will be “real” businesspeople now wanting to hold a Proton dealership) and grow the business professionally like all other car brands in Malaysia.

No more baby-sitting.

This is not politics. This is business and the millions of Malaysians who have supported the brand all these years and who have paid dearly in high depreciation and high maintenance costs due to useless overpriced vendors are fed up and tired of listening to their nonsense.

This article is powered by DS&F, visit www.dsf.my for more automotive updates
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DSF-469102903133988
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drivesafeandfast/