KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 11): The government will not interfere with the management of Proton Holdings Bhd (Proton) and is confident the latter will be able to restore the national car maker to its former glory, said Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

He also stressed speculations and rumours regarding Proton shares being sold off to foreign entities, were not true.

“Those rumours are untrue. Proton will remain the national car-maker. That being said, the government will not meddle in the affairs or management of Proton. We trust that the management are doing the very best for the firm,” he told reporters, after officiating the Affin Hwang Capital Conference Series 2016 today.

But national car-maker or not, Proton's recent performance is a far-cry from its glory days.

The latest Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) report for the first half of 2016 revealed Proton's number 2 spot in terms of sales has been overtaken by Honda, as Proton's sales fell nearly 29% year-on-year over the half year period.

Meanwhile, when asked about recent reports on retrenchments in the country, Mustapa said the issue is not critical as Malaysia’s unemployment rate is still low at 3.1%, despite the global slowdown.

He also stressed trade numbers for Malaysia have remained satisfactory, especially in light of the present global economic challenges.

“In Malaysia, we are still seeing a steady flow of foreign direct investments (FDI) and we hope to have some RM30 billion worth of investments finalised and approved by the end of the year.”