Debating the 2011 Budget, Datuk Bung Moktar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) said he could not understand what was in the mind of the Proton management when introducing the Inspira recently.
"I don’t see any new changes in Proton. At one time, we used to have Lancer, but now Mitsubishi is no longer producing it. And now, Proton changed the name and comes out with Inspira, using Mitsubishi," he said.
"The reason given was, to create a prototype, it would cost RM700 million, so it has to combine with the existing resources to come up with a new car. This is very embarrassing for the country."
Bung Moktar said if Proton could no longer afford to run the business, it should just shut down the company.
"Don’t burden the government and the country. Proton has spent millions for R&D, what’s the result? You cannot even come up with a design which could encourage our people who buy the national car?" he said.
Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak) interjected, saying he received a written reply from the Finance Ministry today that Proton has continued to incur losses in the past few years – from RM589.5 million in 2007 to RM301.8 million last year.
To this, Bung Moktar said he agreed that the government must be rational in looking into the situation faced by Proton as it should be venturing into business prospects which bring more profit, not the other way around.
