‘GEELY SHOULD BUY LOCALLY-MADE CAR PARTS’
KUALA LUMPUR: A veteran of the electrical and electronics (E&E) sector has urged Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, which manufactures Proton cars, to consider procuring locally-produced electronic car parts.
“Malaysia’s E&E sector has contributed to the automotive industry all over the world but here, Proton does not procure electronic parts from local suppliers,” said Penang Science Cluster founder Datuk Yoon Chon Leong.
“Electronic car parts produced in Malaysia are exported and competitively-priced. We urge Geely to consider procuring more locally-produced electronic car parts,” he said at a seminar, here, yesterday. The event was jointly organised by AmInvestment Bank and Bursa Malaysia.
“If we have to build a third national car, it will be nice for us to rethink the model, on whether it should be fully electric and autonomous.
“Only then are we in a better position to talk about it. We just have to integrate the existing skills of E&E players here and work closer to develop our capabilities.”
On 5G technology, Yoon said Malaysia should proceed with the rollout while addressing concerns over data privacy and security breaches.
“We have to be very careful with how we manage data security. There are security companies that help protect data and it is a business in itself that Malaysia can actually play (a part in).”
Last month, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairman Al-Ishsal Ishak said his team was assessing Huawei's 5G network with input from the National Cyber Security Agency.
Some Western countries have banned Huawei’s 5G technology over cyber espionage fears.