[KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia]

Proton's highly publicised campaign to hike sales appears to have hit a road block, with drivers saying they will snub the national carmaker in favour of foreign models.

Proton last month launched a 'zero-defect' campaign aimed at erasing a persistent reputation for poor quality that has left it struggling to compete against Japanese and European carmakers.

Proton managing director Syed Zainal Abidin also announced plans to fit all models with natural gas tanks from October to help motorists beat the rising cost of fuel - following a 41 per cent petrol price hike here last month.

But a snapshot of consumers in the capital Kuala Lumpur by AFP on the weekend shows many critical of the carmaker after a string of bad experiences.

'I am not convinced they can improve the quality of Proton cars,' said R Shangmugam, who now drives a Honda after owning three different Proton models. Mr Shangmugam, 40, said the rear axle of a Proton Saga that he owned in 2001 broke off - while he was driving.

'I saw the rear wheels roll past me. Proton lacks quality,' he said, adding that his Honda, which he bought last year for a reasonable price, was fuel efficient.

Proton was established 25 years ago by former premier Mahathir Mohamad as part of an ambitious national industrialisation plan. But its market share has slumped over the years, as it faced difficulties coping in a new deregulated market.

The government has urged it to forge a partnership with a foreign automaker to give it the expertise and economies of scale that it needs to survive, but talks with Volkswagen and General Motors have collapsed.

Announcing his campaign on June 27, Mr Syed Zainal said 60 per cent of defects in Proton cars were due to poor quality components from vendors, but admitted the rest of the blame fell on the firm's workforce.

The 45-year-old engineer who took the helm two years ago urged workers to focus on quality control, which is critical to profitability and overseas exports.

But Ismi Ismail, 43, said he will not be swayed to return to Proton. 'I will not buy a Proton car. For me Proton has an image of producing poor-quality cars,' he pointed out. 'Proton can bring a new car and we can see whose car will face a problem within the first six months.'

Mr Ismi said he bought a Proton Waja for his mother five years ago and faced regular problems with the power windows. 'Each time I had to pay RM200 (S$83.5) to replace the part. I got fed-up and we subsequently sold the car and bought a four-wheel drive Isuzu vehicle.'

Proton said in February it had made net profits for two quarters in a row, thanks to lower operating costs and increased sales. However, it still booked a net loss of RM32.92 million for the nine months to December, although it was smaller than the RM590.448 million loss a year earlier.