“As an advisor of Proton of course I want Proton to sell more cars but the policy will affect Proton sale ” Mahathir told reporters after giving a lecture on his Look East Policy at University Teknologi Malaysia here.
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“Of course if possible Proton would want protection but actually a lot of this (protectionism) had been abolished so Proton is competing at an almost level playing field,” he said.
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“When this happens car prices will reduce drastically and second-hand cars will have an even lower value so the second-hand shops will close.

“A lot of people sell their cars to get new cars so when the second-hand car shops close and you can’t sell are you supposed to finance your new car?” —–///http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/dr-m-unhappy-with-putrajayas-plans-for-cheaper-cars

Proton started in the 1980s. For thirty years Malaysians have to pay more so that Mamakthir can see Proton continue in business. Proton may have a few thousands workers, and a few more thousands are employed by factories which supply Proton with the parts. For the survival of a few thousand workers, and no doubt a few of the top officers including the advisor to Proton, Proton car owners have to pay a high price for their cars, and other motorists have to pay more taxes for other make of vehicles. This is like government policy of negotiated contracts started by Mamakthir when few tens cronies gain from the contracts at the expense of all other Malaysians, 28 million and counting.

The pioneer status scheme for new industries allows tax holidays of a fixed duration of perhaps five years. But Proton is given protection of unlimited duration. The parasite should just die. But that parasite has acquired a national car status. Was the term a national pride or a national humiliation?

Second-hand cars go down in value does not bring about the collapse of all second-hand car shops. They buy cheaper cars to sell cheaper, and when the cars are cheap, the margin could be higher. When people want to sell their cars, there will be buyers. All car owners now will get a lower value for their old cars. They do not necessarily want to rush to buy new cars. When they do, what they lose in the value of the old cars will be more than compensated by the drop in the value of the new. New entrants will gain more. But eventually all car owners will benefit, and they can utilize their savings to buy more nutritional meals.