Sunday, December 2, 2007

Halal Car, the best yet from Proton

Wonder why this piece didn't make it big in Malaysiakini.com or Malaysia Today!

Hey.. doesn't the Quran come in various sizes? Which size would they decide on? Discrimination it is, if smoe sizes are omitted. And would the compartment for scarfs be a hanging closet or drawer?

Is Proton going to have a fancy R&D grant to look into this "design upgrades?"

Really! No wonder Volkswagen took off! Proton, just install mini-fridges in your cars... those that would keep small mineral water bottles. That will sell better!

Malaysia, Iran, Turkey plan "Islamic" car - report
Sun Nov 11, 2007 8:12am EST

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Malaysia plans to team up with Iran and Turkey to jointly develop what they called the world's first "Islamic" car, complete with features for Muslims, for the world market, Malaysia's Bernama news agency said. The car will incorporate features such as a compass to determine the direction of Mecca for prayers as well as compartments for storing the Koran and headscarves, it quoted the head of Malaysian carmaker Proton Holdings (PROT.KL: Quote, Profile, Research) as saying.

"We will identify a car that we can develop and produce it in Malaysia, Iran or Turkey," Proton Chief Executive Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, on a visit to Iran, said.

"For Proton, we are more than happy because we have products that we can share," he said, adding that the move could help Proton cut down development costs, increase production volume and improve its economies of scale.

In August the state-controlled company reported its fifth straight quarterly loss, as sales continued to slide and its search for a global industry partner dragged on without success.

The Malaysian government has indicated it is willing to sell a stake in Proton to a global car maker and has been in separate talks with Volkswagen (VOWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and General Motors (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), but so far no agreement has been reached.

(Reporting by Jalil Hamid; Editing by Greg Mahlich)

((jalil.hamid@reuters.com; 603-2333 8047; Reuters Messaging jalil.hamid.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: PROTON/ISLAM

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http://www.reuters.com/article/basicindustries-SP-A/idUSSP13387020071111

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Haha.. very soon all malaysia made Proton car will be installed with a "Compass" pointing to the sky n a booklet by DPM Najib explaining how a Malaysian "Astraunout " was sent to space thru Russian's technology. .. The Malaysian Goverment called It first of its kind "Rocket Car" .. U see Malaysia Goverment can be very creative n advance .. don't play play..