I could help but laugh at the how Dr. M trys to defend the
purchasing of Agusta. Does Dr. M thinks that if proton follow the
foot steps of Honda it will help proton to be a world class
automobile company? Common Dr.M, you have to move on with time,
today's automobile industry is no longer the same as it was in the
50s.
(Bernama) -- Former Prime Minister, Tun
Dr Mahathir Mohamad, is standing by his stance that the buying of
the 57.57 percent stake in the Italian motorbike maker, MV Agusta
Motors SpA, was indeed a good investment decision.
But the disposal was due to the lack of engineering knowledge, he
said.
"They don't understand the automotive industry. So they thought it
was a bad investment."
Dr Mahathir said that motorbike companies have a lot of engineering
knowledge and that is why Honda, which used to produce the Honda
Cup 50 cc motorcycle, is today associated with some of the best
cars in the world.
"It is possible for a motorcycle companies to contribute to the
development of motorcars. That is why Proton bought Agusta, it was
an investment in a company that produces the best bikes in the
world."
Agusta motorcycle has been rated as the motorcycle of the year for
Europe, which is proof that it is not so ignorant about
engineering, he told reporters when asked on the recent remark by
the Proton Board that M.V Agusta was a bad investment decision and
did not have any synergy with the national carmaker.
In 2004, Proton through its wholly-owned subsidiary Proton Capital
Sdn Bhd acquired 57.57 percent stake in Agusta for 70 million Euro.
It recently disposed the entire stake to GEVI SpA, a special
purpose vehicle for a nominal sum of one Euro.
"Proton was founded as an engineering company, but when you learn
how to build a car then you learn how to produce a lot of things,
such as engineering products. And that is what Proton has done, and
I think the acquisition of Agusta, to me, was a very good
decision," he said.
The decision to purchase Agusta was not made by the board or by the
chief executive officer but it when through a very tedious process
of being studied by everyone including Khazanah and "they agreed
that we should purchase Agusta."
On the other hand, the decision to sell it for one Euro, doesn't
reflect a very knowledgeable management, "you lose this money and
Proton is going to continuously lose money. Before (this) we never
lost money", Dr Mahathir, who has never been known to mince his
words, said.
He said Proton's financial position then was very strong that it
build its new complex for RM1.8 billion without borrowing any money
from the government or banks and when the former chief executive
officer, Tan Sri Tengku Mahaleel Tengku Ariff was sacked, he left
behind RM2 billion cash.
"(Now) we want to know how much Proton is making?" Dr Mahathir
asked.
Proton's chairman, Datuk Mohd Azlan Hashim, meanwhile was reported
to have said that Agusta was a family run company and it produced
niche products.
As for technology, Azlan had said that Agusta itself was sourcing
1,000 cc engines from Japan's Suzuki as it did not have such
capability.
To this, Mahathir retorted: "But so was Honda (family owned). There
is no doubt that Agusta has the capacity to design engine and
produce engine. If they source anything from the others, it is a
question of economy of scale.
"Once it's big you can produce your own engine. They have the
engineering capability. I have seen it myself," said Dr
Mahathir.
Asked whether Proton Board had informed him about the reason for
disposing the company as he was the advisor, he said, "You ask for
advise before you make a decision not after. That is
informing."