Malaysian hard luck national carmaker Proton says it plans to team up with companies in Iran and Turkey to produce “Islamic cars” for the global market.

The proposal for the Islamic car came from Iran. That seems to be Proton’s first error.

Proton executive Syed Zainal Abidin says the cars will have a compass to determine the direction of Mecca for prayers and compartments for storing the Qur’an and headscarves.

State-owned Proton is aggressively seeking to raise exports and boost sales after its domestic market share fell to 23 per cent, from about 60 per cent five years ago.

You can’t make this stuff up!