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refer to an article “Chinese products winning in RI market: Govt survey,” (March 25).

It’s a consequence of the ACFTA but it’s a good consequence! Consumers have the right to choose products they like and want and not be restricted by so-called stupid protectionism.

In Malaysia the government has done a lot of damage to the automobile market by giving idiotic Proton privileges over the years and a consequence of this is the government has had to pay huge amounts of compensation to other countries for delaying the opening of the Malaysian car market.

In the end the government was still forced to open the market and of course those Proton idiots now scream out that they are losing ground and ask again for government protection.

For donkey years when the car market was closed to foreign cars, Malaysians had to pay for low-quality Protons at a high
cost (yes, they were cheaper than, say, Toyotas, but their quality is just as bad).

A forward-looking government will invest to groom domestic companies to be able to compete with others and not use the easy way out and politically correct tactics to protect good rationales. In the end domestic companies still suffer losses.

Chinese products have swamped the Indonesian market. Why is it not the other way around as well? Indonesian products also swamp the Chinese market?? The answer is clear!

Salau
Yogyakarta