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Dusty Proton car in abandoned building in UK belongs to Dr M

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Ex-PM’s aide says car was sent overseas for R&D, with an interest to develop a hybrid model.

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Former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad sent his own Proton Perdana in 2016 to a R&D facility in the UK. (Youtube pic)

PETALING JAYA:
An aide to Dr Mahathir Mohamad confirmed that the former prime minister is the owner of a dusty Proton Perdana parked in an abandoned lot in the UK.

Last week, Youtube channel Lost Adventures uploaded a video exploring an abandoned building in Surrey, UK, where they found various prototype and luxury vehicles worth millions of pounds in a hidden basement.

Netizens have pointed out over the weekend that one of the cars featured was a Proton Perdana with the number plate VK 5231, which allegedly belonged to Mahathir.

In a Facebook post, the aide explained that Mahathir had sent his own car overseas for research and development (R&D) under Frazer-Nash Research Ltd, a company that develops components made for electric vehicles.

Mahathir was looking into developing a national hybrid car, he said.

He also said the abandoned building in the video was under luxury car manufacturer Bristol Cars, which is owned by Kamal Siddiqi, a British businessman from Pakistan.

“It all started at the end of 2016, when Mahathir went to the UK and discussed with Kamal Siddiqi to convert a normal car into a hybrid car through Kamal’s R&D company, Frazer-Nash Research Limited, which is based in the UK.

“As Mahathir is the type who liked new technologies and did not want the country to be left behind, on his own initiative, he sent his Proton Perdana there for R&D.

“If this R&D had succeeded, Proton would have attempted to create its own hybrid car at the time and compete with other world-leading brands who already had their own hybrid models,” the aide said in the post.

He added that it was not known if the vehicle had gone through the R&D process or not, saying it should have been returned by now.

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