KUALA LUMPUR: The International Trade and Industry Minister has confirmed that Proton has approached the Government for funding, adding that the request is being studied.

“They have submitted (their request) and it is still a work in progress,” said Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed after a dialogue on Malaysia and the Asean Economic Community (AEC) here yesterday.

Mustapa did not divulge the nature of Proton’s request, and skirted disclosing the specifics of the request from Proton by saying “it’s not our practice to reveal details”.

StarBiz had reported yesterday that Proton was seeking up to RM3bil in funding from the Government and Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), but has been futile in its attempts so far.

Proton, which is a unit of DRB-Hicom Bhd, is seeking fresh funding to execute its transformation plan that will see new models being developed, including an electric car.

It has been reported that Proton has committed RM3.8bil in investments until 2017 and needs more capital to be competitive and achieve its turnaround plan.

Mustapa said companies in general were eligible for three types of incentives from the Government - pioneer status, which gives companies tax incentives, a research and development grant and incentives for training.

He said the request from Proton was not unusual and that companies did approach the Government for tailored incentives and that the Government reciprocated by dangling certain carrots and benefits if deemed worthy.

The minister, however, said there were limitations as to whether incentives would be given. “These incentives are available depending on the Government’s financial situation,” he explained.

Mustapa said there were a number of considerations his ministry looked at when determining whether to grant funding. “We want to know if it fits into the country’s strategic direction. We also look at the merits of the case, the availability of funds at that point in time and we will do a thorough due diligence and cost-benefit analysis,” he said.

The report yesterday revealed that the national carmaker had first approached the International Trade and Industry Ministry last year for funding, but its request was turned down. The reason was that Proton couldn’t fully justify why it needed such funding from the Government.

It later approached Petronas, but Proton was not successful in raising the much-needed cash from the national oil company either.

Its difficulty in raising funds also comes at a time when the position of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as Petronas adviser is a talking point.

On Dec 2 last year, Dr Mahathir announced that he was quitting as adviser to Petronas. Subsequently, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak urged him to reconsider his decision.

Dr Mahathir’s role as adviser to Petronas is still up in the air. The former Prime Minister remains as adviser to Proton.

Meanwhile, Mustapa said Malaysia had implemented 88% of the measures needed for the regional integration under the AEC, while the overall implementation for Asean was at 72%.

He noted that one of the challenges for the AEC was non-tariff barriers. “We have abolished several non-tariff barriers,” he said, adding that Asean economic ministers had made reducing non-tariff barriers a priority for the AEC.

The AEC is the goal of regional economic integration among all 10 members of Asean by 2015. The objective is to remove barriers to trade in goods, services investments, capital and skilled workers to create a single duty-free market of over 600 million people and US$2.3 trillion in gross domestic product.
KUALA TERENGGANU, PROTON Holdings Berhad (PROTON) today introduced its latest addition to Team Proton R3 for the 2014 Malaysian Super Series (MSS), the Proton R3 Suprima S Malaysian Touring Car. Team Proton R3 will be defending their title at the Malaysian Touring Car Championship of the Malaysian Super Series (MSS) 2014 that is set to begin on 28 March 2014 at the Sepang International Circuit, coinciding with the Malaysian leg of the F1 Race weekend.

The Proton R3 Suprima S was introduced to the public by the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of PROTON, Dato’ Lukman Ibrahim at the PROTON Sales Carnival in Dataran Pantai Batu Burok, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu. Also present during the launch were Chief Operating Officer (Commercial) of PROTON, Dato' Hisham Othman, PROTON's senior management members and Tengku Djan Ley Tengku Mahaleel, Team Principal for Team Proton R3.

The Proton R3 Suprima S will make its debut at the championship with the target of maintaining Team Proton R3's strong record in the competition having won it the past three consecutive years. Also starting the championship this season will be a new look Proton R3 Satria Neo and Proton R3 Prevé race cars, the same line-up for the 2013 season.

According to Dato' Lukman, PROTON's participation in motorsports continues to be a significant thrust in the development of high performance technology for Proton cars. "PROTON is committed towards creating a strong brand, so our involvement in MSS gives us a platform to demonstrate our capabilities especially in a technical and engineering perspective. Another strong showing at the MSS would set a new standard of excellence for us, and we aim to keep going in that direction," he added.

Remarking on the new car and the upcoming MSS season, Tengku Djan said, "The Proton R3 Suprima S race car is a culmination of development work carried out over the course of the 2013 season. Our commitment has always been to excel and build on what we have achieved in the past, we want to continue with that winning mentality. The team has worked hard at identifying the relevant aspects of the cars that will enhance our race performance, and hopefully this coming season the team will be able to prove themselves yet again."

The MSS will conclude in a season-ending grand finale with the Sepang 1000 KM Race at the end of the year; an endurance race format specially catered for "Touring Car" category race cars. Team Proton R3 were overall champions in 2012, and 5th overall in 2013.

The Proton R3 Suprima S took centre stage at the PROTON Sales Carnival event held from 6-8 February 2014. The Sales Carnival is aimed to provide a unique opportunity for the public to test drive PROTON cars and to purchase them at attractive discounts, as well as to learn more about the unique features of Proton cars, including PROTON's safety technology.

Commenting on the PROTON Sales Carnival, Dato' Lukman said, "When we initially started the Sales Carnival late last year, our intentions were clear; that we wanted get down to the ground, meet the people, showcase our quality as well as give everyone an opportunity to know our products and services better,"

"We are truly heartened by the growing support shown so far, exemplified by the increasing number of visitors to each carnival and the number of bookings we have been able to secure; the Melaka carnival saw an 83.6% increase in bookings from the first carnival with 727 number of bookings made in three days from 396 in Shah Alam, while the Penang carnival also saw a 21% increase in bookings with 879 cars being booked, making it a total of 2002 bookings from the three carnivals" he added.

Visitors to the carnival can also enjoy great deals, with discounts of up to RM5,388 and special finance packages, including the unique "Take Now Pay Later" financial scheme, special interest rates and step-up financing which prospective buyers could opt for when purchasing a Proton car at the Sales Carnival.

In addition to that, there are numerous fun family activities and games, appearance by T-Team FC players, entertaining performances by local artists, and thrilling displays of motorsports prowess by the PROTON R3 team and LOTUS Cars Malaysia.

Proton R3 Suprima S

Engine Type - R3 Campro CPS 1597cc 16 valve

Engine Transmission - F41 5 MT Close Ration Gearbox

Power (bhp/ppm) - 178/7500

Torque (Nm/rpm) - 224/4000

Bodyshells - R3 Lightweight Bodyshell + 6 Point Rollcage

Wheels - R3 Lightweight 15 x 7 ET25 5H PCD 114.3

Tyres - Hankook Ventus Z221 195/55R15 Semi Slick

Bodykit - R3 Front Splitter & Side Skirt; R3 Custom Brake Cooling Ducts


PENANG: Hot on the heels of launching the Suprima S Super Premium in Melaka, PROTON Holdings Berhad (PROTON) today introduced new variants of the Inspira and Satria Neo, giving customers greater options that meet their driving needs.

The Proton Satria Neo Standard 4AT and Inspira Super Premium were launched by the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of PROTON, Dato’ Lukman Ibrahim at the PROTON Sales Carnival in Juru Auto-City, Penang. Also present during the launch were Chief Operating Officer (Commercial) of PROTON, Dato’ Hisham Othman, and PROTON’s senior management members.

Proton Satria Neo Standard 4AT

The Satria Neo Standard 4AT has been introduced with the view of opening up the model to wider market segments, as well as offering an affordable, value-for-money variant of the model.

At the launch, Dato’ Lukman stated, “The Satria is such an iconic model in the Malaysian automotive scene, from the earliest model launched in 1994 to the Neo R3 model which was launched in 2008, it has always been a favorite amongst Malaysians.”

“The Satria Neo Standard 4AT offers affordability and comfort to the stylish hatchback. This variant not only looks good, best of all, the automatic transmission coupled with the Lotus Ride and Handling guarantees consumers an exciting driving experience,” he added.

The Proton Satria Neo Standard 4AT is an improved version of the Satria Neo Standard MT model, and is priced from an affordable RM54,513.50 (solid colour) and RM54,963.50 (metallic). The variant is equipped with 16-inch alloy wheel rims, R3 Body Kit with Side Skirt and Rear Spoiler, R3 Wheel Arches and Front Fog Lamp as well as Side and Sill Moulding.

Proton Inspira Super Premium

At the same time, akin to the Suprima S Super Premium, the Inspira Super Premium was launched to cater to customers who give priority to car specifications. According to Dato’ Lukman, “Since the launch of the Inspira in 2010, this model has received widespread interest across a wide section of car buyers. The Super Premium variant gives the already elegant Inspira an updated look with a sportier edge, and is sure to capture the attention of car enthusiasts everywhere.”

The Proton Inspira Super Premium is the highest priced variant of the Inspira at RM102,000. The variant is equipped with R3 18-inch lightweight rims and tyres, R3 Body Kit with Front Splitters, Side Skirts, Rear Tailgate Spoilers and Rear Apron, R3 Sport Spring as well as the R3 Blood Stripe Sticker.

The launch of the two variants was the highlight of the PROTON Sales Carnival event held from 24-26 January 2014 at Juru Auto-City in Penang. The Sales Carnival is aimed to provide a unique opportunity for the public to test drive PROTON cars and to purchase them at attractive discounts, as well as to learn more about the unique features of Proton cars, in particular PROTON's safety technology.

Visitors to the carnival can also enjoy great deals, with discounts of up to RM5,388 and special finance packages, including a unique scheme called “Take Now Pay Later”, special interest rates and step-up financing which prospective buyers could opt for when purchasing a Proton car at the Sales Carnival. In addition to that, there are numerous fun family activities and games, appearance by Kedah FA players, entertaining performances by local artists, and thrilling displays of motorsports prowess by the PROTON R3 team and LOTUS Cars Malaysia.

Dato’ Lukman added, “The response we received at the PROTON Sales Carnival in Melaka was extremely encouraging - so much so that we even surpassed our sales target by approximately 130%. Looking at the encouraging response and the opportunity to bring our products closer to the mass public, we decided to hold the Sales Carnival in Juru Auto-City over the course of three days, as we know the consumers in the Northern Region are just as eager to grab the fantastic offers from PROTON.”

For those in the East Coast, PROTON is set to organise another round of the carnival in Kuala Terengganu from 7-8 February 2014.

The Proton Neo Standard 4AT and Proton Inspira Super Premium are now officially open for booking. The Proton Neo Standard 4AT has four colour options: GTi Silver, Tranquillity Black, Solid White and Fire Red, and comes with a two-year warranty or 50,000 (whichever comes first). The Proton Inspira Super Premium is only available in Solid White, and comes with a three-year warranty or 100,000km (whichever comes first). For more information, customers are invited to visit any PROTON Showroom nationwide.





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