He said he was informed that no one wanted to see another national car developed as most believed “it was enough” to have Proton which was regarded as a failure.
With his trademark sarcasm, he said: “We are not qualified nor capable of having an automotive industry.”
In a blog post, he said Malaysians were prepared to buy imported cars, including from China, while those who could afford them could also buy Japanese and German-made cars.
“I still remember the Japanese cars after the war. As users, if we scratched with our fingernails, we would see Milo tins. But it is from these Milo tin cars that came the various models, such as Toyota, Nissan and Suzuki which we are now using.
“Certainly this will not happen with Malaysia. Our cars will always be made from Milo tins forever.”
Mahathir said the government had no plans to make the proposed second national car project a government-owned automative industry.
He said the private sector in the country was now capable of designing, making clay and test models, as well as producing cars on a large scale.
“But, because early on we rejected the idea of a second national car, then we will oppose all proposals to produce cars by the private sector. Certainly, the government will not have a government-owned automotive industry,” he said.
Mahathir said the country’s market was now full of imported cars, both of good quality and of the “Milo-tin” variety.
“Produced by giant companies, they monopolise Malaysia’s car market so much so that it buried Proton.
“In the end, Proton was sold to foreigners. There is no more national car, no more automotive industry. Workers, engineers, managers are also out of jobs. Everything drops.
“Malaysia becomes a consumer country, padi farming country, fishing. It’s alright. This is what we want and this is what we get. Just forget about Vision 2020,” he said.
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