The Story : Dato' Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir

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WHEN Proton Holdings Bhd's supremo Tengku Tan Sri Mahaleel Tengku Ariff made a sudden departure from the company in July 2005, he left behind a much-publicised vacant position. In less than a month, numerous names had been proposed.

Only some 40 names were shortlisted, and in the end, only one stood out - that of Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohd Tahir, the former executive director of second national car manufacturer, Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd. He was hand-picked to revive Proton's fledgling fortunes in Malaysia and its vital export markets.

Syed Zainal is no new face to the automotive world. He cut an impressive figure at Perodua, forging strong links with Toyota and Daihatsu. His departure from Perodua was a huge loss for the manufacturer, says a motoring journalist.

Perhaps, it is now national service for Syed Zainal as Proton's new managing director and chief executive officer. It would be interesting to see how he can transform the national car manufacturer in the coming years. What Proton needs now is a new `mental framework'. Can he bring the kaizen culture he learned from Perodua's foreign partners Toyota and Daihatsu to Proton?

`Proton is a national asset. The most important element at the company is its existing workforce. I believe Proton has big potential to grow further,' Syed Zainal told the Press upon his appointment to the position.

With him lies the hope of the nation's automotive industry in the new millennium. Can Syed Zainal strengthen the national automaker and forge new deals with Germany's largest automotive company Volkswagen AG?

Industry observers have pointed out that Proton is short of new ideas, including coming up with new models to replace its existing fleet comprising the Iswara, Wira and Perdana.

With his position in Proton comes the responsibility of the nation's economic goals and the livelihood of more than 100,000 people, both directly and indirectly.

Prior to Proton and Perodua, Kelantan-born Syed Zainal was a project engineer at Petronas Gas Sdn Bhd, and he climbed the ranks as senior manager, general manager and finally CEO at conglomerate Hicom Holdings Bhd.

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Chief Operating Officer : Datuk Syed Abdul Hafiz Syed Abu Bakar

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Under his tenure, Perodua has grown to become the country's number one car company in terms of sales since 2006, overtaking Proton Holdings Bhd


Datuk Syed Abdul Hafiz Syed Abu Bakar has been appointed to be the new COO (Chief Operating Officer) of Naza Kia to help boost the automotive business of the brand under the automotive giant. Naza Kia, the official distributor of Kia Motors vehicle in the country appointed Syed Hafiz recently who was formerly attached with Perodua (Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Nasioanl Sdn Bhd) where he was their Managing Director previously.

He said that as Kia has a very strong presence internationally which includes positive growth in Europe and the United States, he hopes to leverage of this strength and to translate them into equally positive results in the country. Kia is the second largest automotive company from South Korea. Syed Hafiz will be replacing Datuk Syed Hisham Syed Wazir, who has since moved on to take on the post of Chief Executive Officer and President of UMW Holdings Bhd which is involved in selling Toyota cars in Malaysia.

Attached with Perodua for 5 years, Syed Hafiz added that he will be working towards enhancing the image of the brand and marketing the products with value and making them desirable for its target market. During his time at the national car maker, he was instrumental (Perodua) which saw it becoming the best-selling brand in Malaysia. To date, the record is still intact. His achievements were recognized where he was subsequently awarded the ‘Automotive Man of the Year 2009’ during the NST/Maybank Car of the Year Awards.

He was attached with an NGO for 9 months after leaving Perodua where after visiting South Korea as the advisor to the Malaysian-Korean Chamber of Commerce decided that he still has much to offer in the industry. Apart from that, he also visited South Korea with Datuk Seri Mustapha Mohamed, the Minister of International Trade and Industry on a trade mission. He said that what he saw in South Korea has inspired him to want to contribute more to the automotive industry back home.

According to SM Nasaruddin SM Nasimuddin, the joint group executive chairman of Naza Group, they are confident that Datuk Syed Hafiz is the ideal candidate to continue the good work of Datuk Syed Hisham was he has a lot of experience and hand-on knowledge of the industry which would be beneficial to propel the brand to a higher level. .



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