Taping It Shut - Lim Guan Eng Arrived At Istana Negara In This Proton Perdana

A faulty rear door on a rented Proton Perdana Executive that could not be shut closed forced Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to hold the door closed with his hands throughout his 50 minute drive from Subang Airport to Istana Negara.

In two separate posts on Twitter, Lim said that the Perdana was rented by the Penang state government from Jabatan Kerja Raya (Public Works Department) Kuala Lumpur. He posted pictures of the Perdana Executive, bearing registration number XXX IDB 44, with its rear-left passenger door taped shut.

Before you hit out at Proton, we need to mention that many of the Protons owned by the government are not maintained by Proton, but by a third-party organization given the contract to maintain the government’s fleet.

This is not the first time the government’s fleet of first generation Proton Perdana cars have been in the limelight for the wrong reasons.

Back in 2008, the Perdana was put in a spotlight when two state governments – Terengganu and Penang - switched their fleet cars from Proton Perdana to Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Toyota Camry respectively, arguing that the Perdanas were too expensive to maintain, with several government officials complaining that the cars broke down frequently, while one Exco member reported that his Perdana’s bonnet flew open while driving.

Checks by Proton revealed that none of these cars were maintained by Proton, and some of them have unauthorized after-market parts installed on them. There were also cases of the government being billed for repairs made to under warranty cars when Proton could have done it for free.