Waja Performance Club Is Officially Launched
Shortly after Proton launched the Waja, AUTOWORLD.COM.MY opened a new section in its forum to allow visitors to exchange views about the significant new model from our national carmaker. Brickbats and bouquets were evident as various views were presented; those who didn’t have one wanted to know from those who had one what this car was like.
In a short time, a community of Waja owners started to form as the same group of owners regularly exchanged views, helping each other and giving tips on the car. This sort of enthusiasm was unusual for a family-type sedan but then again, the Lotus-tuned Waja also has a sporty edge and can offer a lot of driving pleasure for the enthusiast.
The numerous comments posted by owners and non-owners alike were also noted by Proton personnel, including the CEO himself. EON too paid a lot of attention to the forums and where appropriate, responded with comments, answers and also gave priority to any problems that owners had encountered. Many will remember the dedication of Puan Rozita of EON’s, Head of EON’s Customer Care Division, who personally helped resolve many problems for owners and it can now be revealed that the level of support from EON was also fully endorsed by its top management . They recognized the value of the AUTOWORLD.COM.MY forum as a channel for getting valuable feedback and interacting with customers. The power of online forums was very clear as a 21st century electronic version of the famous Malay Mail Hotline page which often provided consumers with a channel to ‘get action’ when they had problems which could not be resolved.
It was only to be expected that the community soon wanted to get together and do things together, which led to the formation of the Waja Performance Club (WPC). AUTOWORLD.COM.MY helped the club get going by providing technical services to create the website and to host it as well.
“WPC is unique in the history of Malaysian auto clubs in that it is specifically web-based and started off that way,” said Roy C.K. Hew, its president. “Looking back now, I would say that we conceptualized the club idea in November 2000 as we wanted to share knowledge and pursue a common interest more actively and not just through forum messages either.”
In the following months, many Waja owners heard about WPC and visited its website at www.wpc.com.my to join. Not just a club in name, WPC also had a very active calendar in 2001 and organized educational visits to various factories, driving courses and weekend holidays for members and their families. Needless to say, a visit to the Proton Medium-Volume factory where their favourite car is made was one of the early activities.
Recognised as a legitimate group, Proton has maintained close ties with WPC and sought the views of its members for product development. On some occasions, members have even been shown some future ideas so they know what is coming and provided with a better understanding of many issues pertaining to the manufacture of the Waja. In this way, they have served as ‘ambassadors’ for the Waja.
Recently, the club was officially registered with the Registrar of Societies, formalizing its existence and making it possible for greater things ahead. The registration was followed by a special event at the Proton plant last weekend where the club was officially launched by Proton CEO, Tengku Tan Sri Dr Tengku Mahaleel Tengku Ariff.
The Proton CEO, in his address to the guests, praised WPC for its initiatives and assured the club that it would be recognised as an important consumer group with which the company would interact frequently.
In his address, the WPC president had this to say: “Together we, the Waja owners, will unite as one, under the umbrella of WPC. Our unity has made WPC the only official channel between Proton, its distributors and the Waja owners. I sincerely believe this relationship will benefit all mutually but more importantly, the whole experience of owning and driving a Waja will be more enjoyable and thrilling.”
Also present were the CEOs of the two Proton distributors, EON and Proton Edar, which have also been highly supportive of the club and sponsored many events. The guests were later given a tour of the factory and enjoyed a luncheon together.
To date, WPC has 528 members and are in the process of re-registering its members who had registered prior to the official registration date of WPC. With the assistance of Proton, Proton-Edar and EON, WPC aims to be the largest automotive club in Malaysia by June 2003.
