Malaysia’s balancing act: national pride and commercial realities

EVERY now and then, Malaysia Inc faces a reckoning, balancing national pride against commercial pragmatism. This often involves deep reflection on how to revive struggling or underperforming assets, with a key consideration being whether to relinquish tightly held stakes in strategic icons to foreign investors.

This is a touchy subject and often turns into a political hot potato.

In the late 2000s, Proton, Malaysia’s national car company, was struggling due to ageing models and burgeoning competition. With no turnaround ideas left, Khazanah Nasional sold its stake to tycoon Syed Mokhtar Albukhary’s DRB-Hicom. However, Proton continued to struggle and, in 2017, a 49.9 per cent stake was sold to Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.