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olo Mayor Joko Widodo has made headlines again. He replaced his official vehicle, a Toyota Camry, with a vocational, student-made Kiat Esemka. It rekindles the long-awaited national car and it draws both support and criticism.

Truth be told, the Kiat Esemka has neither been long tested nor prepared for mass production. The Solo mayor, who in fact has good intentions, has acted too quickly in making it his official car.

Many also questioned who really designed and built the engine, as the most important part of the car. Was it the solely the work of vocational students? Or does it imitate other manufacturers? Or have they bought it from other countries such as China?

Making a car is less difficult. Many can assemble it. All parts of a car can easily be bought from all across the world. But real car makers master the design, engine technology and how to sell units. Without these basic requirements, new products can’t compete with long-standing brands.

After all, the mayor has made a good sales pitch for Kiat Esemka. Some have shown interest in buying the cars. But those buyers are still insignificant. So, the next uphill task of Kiat Esemka will be to mass produce the car and spare parts, establish a research and development center for endless innovation, to market the product and to conduct after-sales services.

Can Kiat Esemka undertake these tasks?

At this point, in my opinion, the government should guide the process. And on grounds of culture and capacity, Indonesia’s Kiat Esemka can glean lessons learned from Malaysia’s Proton. The essence is that government intervention is a must.

Proton was established in 1983 as a government-linked company. It was the brainchild of the then Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohammad. Without adequate industrial management and skills, Proton could not build the car on its own. It asked Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors to cooperate. At first the product was 100 percent made by Mitsubishi. What Malaysia created was only the Proton brand and management control.

Later, Proton found that the technology hardly transferred. Naturally foreign companies will be reluctant to share knowledge with local ones. Nobody wants to create a future competitor. However, Proton shrewdly relinquished its dependence on Mitsubishi by buying another car manufacturer with state-of-the-art technology, Lotus in 1996. Since then, Proton has encountered no barriers to access the source of car technology. Mitsubishi sold its shareholding in 2004.

In terms of marketing, Mahathir Mohammad unequivocally admitted that Proton domestic market had been protected during his era. He said that without protection, Malaysia would have no car industry. He also pointed out that Proton sales were hampered in Japan and Korea through the Approved Permits policy. In a similar vein, Britain, America and Germany did the same.

Proton sales have been up and down. But as a car maker, it has been relatively well established with technology mastering and market share. And the success of Malaysia in developing its national car is inextricably linked with government support.

Foreign car brands have ruled the roost in Indonesia’s domestic market for decades. It’s time to change the game. The national car is not merely about making a car. Sometimes it can quench national pride. And in the process it can also grow the economy with value added products.

Erwin Wirawan
Jakarta