Upheaval at Proton?

Turnaround MD, Syed Zainal may leave at the end of year?

Over the weekend rumours of a change in the top brass at Proton started to gain steam.

First there were stories that DRB-Hicom is looking to gain a stake in the national car company and the story goes that the remarriage between the two will streamline some of the processes and also reclaim the synergy of combining manufacturer and distributor.

Then Bernama radio carried a story suggesting that former Perodua Exxecutive Director, Tan Sri Ab Rahman Omar may find himself a seat on the Proton board, the national news agency also suggested that Datuk Abdul Razak Dawood, most famous for his days in the Petronas-Eon rally Team or PERT,  may rejoin the company.

No details were given of  their probable position in Proton but there are suggestions that Ab Rahman may become chairman while Razak could take up the post of Managing Director, replacing the company’s turnaround captain, Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Tahir.

I am still wondering why there is a need to change captain in the middle of a storm.

As automotive giants stumble and big names like General Motors and Ford are staring at bankruptcy, Proton needs to have a firm and confident man at the helm, they need someone who understands the automotive industry.

Syed Zainal has done well for Proton, he took the solid technical foundation left by Tan Sri Tengku Mahaleel Ariff and built a range of popular models that  helped save the company and stave a foreign takeover. The lauch of the new MPV early next year marks another important milestone for Proton and Syed Zainal must be given some credit for making it possible.

I do hope that his departure has nothing to do with his no-nonsense stance against vendors and internal inefficiencies that brought proton to it’s knees and at one time threatened to ruin it completely.