Much controversy has been reported about Proton, our ailing automobile manufacturer which is one of the government-linked companies.
One undeniable fact is that Proton has been on the limelight simply because it has a reputation of slipping in and out of profit over the past year as it reported that it is still struggling to reverse a steady decline in market share as a result of intense competition from foreign car makers.
Recently, the ailing national carmaker has achieved once again the slippery performance by posting more red ink to its first quarter results:

• It chalked up a 58.6 million ringgit (US$15.9 million) loss in the first quarter to June 2006 compared to a lower loss of 12.35 million ringgit in the same quarter last year;
• Its sales slumped to 1.42 billion ringgit against 2.05 billion ringgit a year ago;
• For the first quarter, Proton’s car sales stood at just 32,200 units compared to 44,367 in the same period last year;
• Its financial year end May 30 2006 result came with a dismaying disappointment which posted a profit of 47 million ringgit (US$13 million), just one-tenth of the earnings recorded in the previous year and
• Proton’s national market share declined to 41 percent in 2005 from 60 percent in 2002. Its managing director Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir again blamed the latest poor result on declining car sales in Malaysia and a lack of new models, with the next contenders due to hit the streets only next year.

By the way, its latest model is Proton Savvy which was launched last year with disappointing results, and now we have a newcomer which is Proton Satria. One unfortunate part is that Proton has been struggling with a reputation for producing shoddy and unimaginative models.
It is hoped that Proton can emulate exemplary example like the recent Sime Darby’s positive results so that GLC’s image would not be tarnished.