Dear all,

A letter post on Tun’s Blog, chedet.cc “KERETA NASIONAL” for sharing.

Dear PM Tun Dr Mahathir,

I am surprised that Tun is still able to find the time to write in Tun’s blog (chedet.cc) voicing out Tun’s personal feeling on the subject closed to Tun’s heart …. “National Car” http://chedet.cc/?p=2872

I quote the last 3 paragraphs below:

“Malaysia menjadi Negara pengguna, Negara penanam padi, pemancing ikan. Tak mengapalah. Ini yang kita mahu dan ini yang kita dapat. Lupakanlah sahaja Wawasan 2020.”

Looking back at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wawasan_2020, where Tun had outlined the nine strategic challenges that Malaysia must overcome to achieve Vision 2020 as follows:

• Challenge 1: Establishing a united Malaysian nation made up of one Bangsa Malaysia (Malaysian Race).
• Challenge 2: Creating a psychologically liberated, secure and developed Malaysian society.
• Challenge 3: Fostering and developing a mature democratic society.
• Challenge 4: Establishing a fully moral and ethical society.
• Challenge 5: Establishing a matured liberal and tolerant society.
• Challenge 6: Establishing a scientific and progressive society.
• Challenge 7: Establishing a fully caring society.
• Challenge 8: Ensuring an economically just society, in which there is a fair and equitable distribution of the wealth of the nation.
• Challenge 9: Establishing a prosperous society with an economy that is fully competitive, dynamic, robust and resilient.

Is Tun giving up on these challenges or Tun feel disappointed with Malaysians mostly negative response towards Tun’s initiative?

But knowing Tun from below extract: http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/echoes_of_the_past/tun_dr_mahathir_mohamad_1981_2003_father_of_modernisation.html?date=2016-04-01

But for the man who actually changed time, nothing is impossible for Dr M, and Malaysians owe him a great deal for putting our tiny dot of a nation on the world map. It was his persistence that helped propel the country to become among the fastest developing nations. He earned the nickname Bapa Wawasan (Father of Vision), an allusion to his vision of making Malaysia a developed nation by the year 2020. “Dr M demanded a lot from others but much more of himself. Failure was not an option,” says a former aide. His dressing down of the Malays for being dependent on “crutches” and not being competitive enough in an era of globalisation was an annual tirade at Umno general assemblies.

I re-quote Tun’s blog post “PROTON” dated 25 May 2017: http://chedet.cc/?p=2524

“They say Proton is my brainchild. Now the child of my brain has been sold. I am a sissy. I cry even if Malaysians are dry-eyed. My child is lost. And soon my country. Please excuse me.”

Dearest Tun, I understand that Tun loves this country dearly. Tun has a very personal deep feeling and passion for national car and truly believe that it can be successfully done this time around with second national car. I err on the side of caution and would like to humbly offer my opinion;

Proton is not lost, our country is not lost, and in fact we Malaysians collectively saved our beloved Malaysia from definite ruin in the nick of time (GE14). Our Beloved Malaysia was wounded, dented and injured. It is now up to us to pick up the pieces and to reform and rebuild our country towards unity, justice, liberty and prosperity.

The essence of Wawasan 2020 is not solely on physical development or per capita income nor whether Malaysia should have a second national car per se but all about how to overcome collectively the nine challenges Tun spelt out on vision 2020.

Tun had been given the second chance to re-launch Wawasan 2020. It is entirely up to Tun to choose whether to learn from past mistakes, learn to cut pride, control self egos and ultimately learn to put interest of the nation above all and do what is more imperative to achieve the essence of Wawasan 2020; or to remain steadfast that the only measure of Vision 2020 is on achieving developed country status in term of per capita income and must have a national car.

As of Proton our former national car, I have to admit that my first family car is a Proton Wira which is what I can afford at that time. My second car is a Perodua Myvi and soon after that I had to sell off my Proton Wira (due to frequent maintenance/breakdown) and bought a Toyota Altis. Last month, I pampered myself with a booking of a white BMW X1 but unfortunately was informed this month that all white BMW X1 are sold out till Sept (Zero GST periods). I rebook a BMW530e and hope to collect the car before the 10% SST comes into effect on 1^st Sept 2018.

It is my wish that Proton will be given a second chance to make good of its full potential with its new partner (49.9%) Geely Auto (a respectable China brand). We can cry over a spilled milk or work harder to make sure Tanjung Malim (Proton city) shall become ASEAN auto industries and supportive hub where auto manufacturers, auto assemblers, auto parts manufacturers, auto R&D, auto innovation, auto financing, auto logistic, robotic, IT and etc will be located thus provide lots of business opportunity for our entrepreneurs and high paying jobs for our scientists, researchers, engineers, ICT experts, technicians and workers.

I truly believe Proton will always remain a Malaysia brand and will be forever recognized as Tun’s brainchild. It is my hope that in the near future Proton car will again be the car of choice and heart’s desire of all Malaysians.

In my previous blog posted I had written:

“Our seventh PM possess the full experience of our fourth PM, plus he is now a very much wiser man (Know what works and what don’t), witty (able to make us cry or make us laugh simultaneously), repentance and grateful (able to apologize and say thanks) and magnanimous (able to set aside the past, in order to move forward together), slightly older but still full of zest, passion, energy and as hard-working as our fourth PM”

I wish Tun and Tun’s cabinet ministers good health, happiness, success always and have strong political will and determination to see to it that Vision 2020 nine challenges are successfully re-booted in this NEW MALAYSIA.

Thank you

Yours truly,

SS LEE