Shaken DRB seen seeking RM1.5b state loan

Kuala Lumpur

PROTON Holdings has bled RM2.5 billion (S$831 million) in the four years since it was taken over by DRB-Hicom Bhd, leaving the conglomerate at a loss as to how to sustain the carmaker. Worried about the damage to the group, automotive executives say that DRB-Hicom has turned to Putrajaya for a RM1.5 billion soft loan to assist with new model development.

The request will be tough to meet for a number of reasons including the Treasury's lack of funds to help out owing to the collapse in oil prices. Perhaps more crucially, Proton chairman and adviser Mahathir Mohamad has burnt his bridges with Prime Minister Najib Razak, after the former joined forces with opposition groups in an attempt to oust Mr Najib because of his alleged misappropriation of funds involving the scandal-ridden state-owned development fund 1MDB.