The day Singaporeans claim Proton as theirs will be the day we Malaysians know that Proton has truly succeeded.
Not that long ago, there was a bit of hoo-hah from the more Malaysian side of the causeway critiquing a poster that claimed the durian as the national fruit of Singapore. More recently too, some feathers were ruffled online when someone (who obviously didn’t know better) claimed on X that the tiny breakaway city state was where nasi lemak originated from.
Now of course, this cross-border food fight has naturally been boiling away in the background for as long as when one country has split into two. What more is that this inter-causeway debate on the origin of things extends beyond the F&B realm as well, with the most petty of which being the skirmishes between Malaysians and Singaporeans on where exactly so and so famous person really came from…
Though even in this ever continuing trend of our neighbours from across the causeway staking their claims in things that are very obviously Malaysian, the one thing that they have resolutely stayed far away from touting as their own is our automakers. So why is it then dear Singaporeans, that you do not wish to claim Proton as your national car too?
Well for one, there isn’t actually an official Proton presence in Singapore for the longest time already. The last time the Malaysian lion marque has been in the tiny island nation was in fact over a decade ago, when it decided to pull the plug on its operations over there back in 2012.
But given the fact that most of their durians come imported hasn’t really stopped Singaporeans from still claiming the thorny fruit is capable of growing in their concrete jungle, Proton not being offered across the causeway shouldn’t really stop them from staking a claim in it. What is likely stopping them however is the unfortunate present fact that our national automaker is still perceived as (for the lack of a better word) a bit rubbish.
While opinions from this side of the causeway have may certainly contributed to colouring Proton in an unimpressive light, the simple truth nevertheless sadly remains for our national automaker to have yet break free of its stigma of subpar-ness that its similarly-aged South Korean counterparts have since successfully accomplished. Most people outside of Malaysia (and some within the country) after all still regard the roaring lion marque as being nothing more than a brand that churns out badge-engineered versions of mediocre cars from some place else, with that first being Japan and now China.
Amid this admittedly brutal putdown for Proton here though, there is to be some actually good news that the Malaysian automaker can takeaway from this piece. Such is because getting back to the initial topic of Singaporeans claiming good Malaysian things for themselves, this cross-channel claim game does actually provide a convenient yardstick for the roaring lion marque to gauge its success.
So forget sales figures and production numbers, the point when Proton can consider itself a truly successful company is when Singaporeans eventually (somehow) twist the tale and claim it as one of their own.
Happy Malaysia Day!
