NEEDS RESTRUCTURING AND FOREIGN PARTNER

KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 (Bernama) -- The government is still open to the idea
of a strategic foreign partner for national carmaker Proton Holdings Bhd but it
has to be on the right terms and conditions, said Prime Minister Najib Razak.

"I don't think Proton can manage without one (foreign partner) but it has to
be the right one. The terms and conditions must be fair to us as well," he said.

"So, moving forward, a restructuring of the national carmaker is necessary
in terms of having a strong and appropriate foreign partner," Najib said in a
30-minute interview with Adam Bakhtiar of CNBC, which was aired Friday.

He said even the vendor system has allowed proliferation of too many
companies and they are not competitive or of higher quality.

Asked if the National Automotive Policy and Bumiputera equity participation
in the vendor system will be liberalised further, Najib, who is also the Finance
Minister, said: "We certainly want to upgrade the quality."

The companies should go for consolidation to strengthen their performance,
he said.

Najib said that auto tariffs would also need to be reviewed from time to
time.

"But we have to look into Proton's position as well. A stronger Proton
certainly will be able to compete within Asean even if the tariffs are reduced,"
he said.
-- BERNAMA