Proton ushers in new year with Festival Proton 1 Malaysia Grand Finale
Proton ended its 25th anniversary year, 2010, in a celebratory mood, ushering in the new year with the Festival Proton 1 Malaysia Grand Finale carnival held at the Proton Centre of Excellence (COE) in Shah Alam on 31 December 2010 from 8:00pm.
The carnival, which lasted till midnight for the new year countdown, also concludes the two-week long Festival Proton 1 Malaysia roadshow which kicked off on 18 December 2010. The roadshow tour took a convoy of 55 Proton cars around Peninsula Malaysia, making 10 stops in 10 states. Stopovers made by the convoy during the period were Ipoh, Alor Setar, Kangar, Georgetown, Kota Bharu, Kuala Terengganu, Kuantan, Batu Pahat, Melaka and Nilai.
At each stop, the convoy members put up various fun-filled activities for visitors in addition to holding a small auto show. There were also performances and appearances by certain local artistes which included Adibah Nor, Rabbani, Jay Jay, and Amy Search. Donations in cash and in kind were also presented to selected orphanages and disabled individuals at every convoy stop.
The Grand Finale Carnival also featured several of Proton’s recent headline-grabbing display cars, such as the Pahlawan concepts unveiled at the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show 2010, the Saga EV, the Exora EREV, and also the EMAS concept.
A cash donation was also presented at the carnival to children from three orphanages, Rumah Kebajikan Nur Zaharah in Bentong, Rumah Kebajikan Anbu Illam in Ulu Klang and Rumah Anak-Anak Yatim Nasuha in Gombak as well as selected handicapped individuals from the Projek Perumahan Rakyat Termiskin in Bukit Lanchong.
Another person with a reason to celebrate was En Mazlan bin Mahmud, who was the grand prize winner of the ‘Proton 25th Anniversary – What Moves You’ online contest. His story ‘Demi Anak Ku’ was selected as the winning entry, and that won him a 17″ Macbook Pro, an iPhone 4, and a surprise in the form of a Proton Exora.
The climax of the nationwide tour that night were performances by local artistes Jaclyn Victor, Faizal Tahir, Amy Mastura, Dayang Nurfaizah, Bunkface, Awie – and a surprise appearance by Lebanese singer Maher Zain, followed by a fireworks display precisely at the stroke of midnight. Other performances included a special 1 Malaysia dance and hip-hop renditions. Visitors were also entertained by television personalities Farah Fauzana and Ally Iskandar who were the emcees for the night.
The Festival Proton 1 Malaysia road show was our own unique way of saying thank you and to pay tribute to all Malaysians whose continued support had been instrumental to the success of the national car project. The success of Proton is also that of all Malaysians, and what better way is there than to usher in the New Year together with them – our customers, staff and Malaysians. This activity enabled Proton to not only share with the rakyat our past accomplishments but provide them with a rare glimpse of what is in store for the future,” said Proton Holdings Berhad Group Managing Director Dato’ Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir.
“2010 had been a remarkably good year for Proton and it also marked 25 years of achievement in pioneering the national car project. We’re looking forward to an even better year, with greater achievements in 2011,” Dato’ Syed Zainal continued.
Pictures: Official Proton release
