There is a suggestion by the Minority Shareholder Watchdog Group (MSWG) for the Malaysian government to end its financial support of national carmaker Proton. This, according to the group, is following the appointment of Dr Li Chunrong as Proton’s new CEO, who is the company’s first foreign national chief in a very long time.

Also part of the senior management team is newly appointed Winfried Vahland, former chairman and CEO of Skoda. Li Chunrong (below) is a Chinese national and a Geely nominate.

"Li's presence is interesting because it represents a major shift in approach for Malaysia in terms of the CEO's demographic and nationality (historically speaking) and its new Asean focus," MSWG said in its latest The Observer newsletter.

"Recent news has been all about the China carmaker's major role in Proton, including the integration of Geely powertrains into Proton products (hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric), the launching of at least one new model annually and overall technology and component transfer, including transmissions — all without additional investment from Proton — thus explaining Li's position as No. 1," the report added.

Of course, the government has always maintained that Proton needs to stand on its own with help of a foreign partner. Now with Geely in the picture – together with its line-up of vehicles; starting with the impending Proton-badged Boyue, on top of advanced powertrains that include electric technology – MSWG sees that Proton should stop expecting government financial assistance.