On Thursday, 10 January, Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar personally gave Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad a ride to Senai International Airport, in a first generation Proton Saga.
The Johor Sultan drove a pristine-condition blue Proton Saga with the registration number “Proton 1” from Istana Bukit Serene to the airport, a 20km long journey. Earlier, Dr Mahathir had an hour-long audience with Sultan Ibrahim at Istana Bukit Serene, Johor Bahru.
The car was gifted to Sultan Ibrahim’s late father Sultan Iskandar Sultan Ismail during Dr Mahathir’s first tenure as the country’s fourth prime minister.
“The car is 34-years-old. It has a manual transmission and has about 22,000km on its odometer. Basically, this is a good endorsement for Proton,” said Dr Mahathir.
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The Proton Saga is Malaysia’s first national car, based on the Mitsubishi Lancer Fiore sedan. Launched on 9 July 1985, it was Proton’s flagship model and the company’s longest running model, having seen different iterations over 31 years.
It was first powered by the 1.3-litre Mitsubishi 4G13 Orion II engine, and two years later, Proton introduced the 1.5-litre 4G15 Orion II-powered model.
The Proton Saga cost MYR17,000 for the 1.3-litre model and MYR19,000 for the 1.5-litre when they were first launched.
Source: Malay Mail, BERNAMA
