What's the deal with Proton?

I don't consider myself to be an industry expert by any stretch, but I can't seem to understand the way Proton, one of the two domestic Malaysian automobile manufacturers, works. Proton began sometime in the mid-80s by purchasing "platforms" from Mitsubishi and building cars based on those platforms in Malaysia. This was the way Proton manufactured their cars up until about 2002, when new models were introduced that were supposed to be fully designed by Proton. My issue with this is that Proton did not buy next-gen platforms, they bought then-current platforms and used them for a really long time, made lots of money, and now pretends to have none. To put this concept into perspective, I'd like to explain how manufacturers look at "platforms." Honda and Toyota commonly have 4-year product cycles. Each time they redesign a car, it can be considered a new platform. Therefore, these platforms they design are supposed to both, pay themselves off, and make a significant profit within that 4-year period. Proton has been using a platform it acquired in the 80s from 1987 to, well its still on sale! The exact same car that was on sale in 1987, is still available at your local Proton dealership. They also charge as if they are building cars in a fully industrialized country with a heavy currency and high wages. What do I mean by this? A new Honda Civic can be had in Canada for $16,500 (without taxes), which roughly translates to RM 50,000 (RM is Ringgit Malaysia). The Proton models as of 2005, sell for between RM 32,000 and RM 59,000. That converts to the price of a brand new Japanese car in North America. If Proton is buying heavily discounted old platforms, and selling at Toyota/Honda prices for more than 18 years, wouldn't this mean enormous profits over time? Toyota can develop an expensive platform, one that incomparably greater than the cost that Proton buys at, sell cars for 4 years, and make a huge profit to boot. I know that Toyota is now gonna be the world's largest carmaker, and their volume is a lot greater than Proton's but if we call their difference proportional, that is, the amount of investment in a platform vs. sales volume, then we still have the issue of product cycle. There should be no reason for Proton not to be filthy rich from selling a car for 18 years without change. On top of it, the government has created great barriers to entry for other carmakers, thereby protecting Proton, as well as offering financial assistance. However, "filthy rich" is not Proton's current state, and at the moment, Proton is defiantly trying to avoid bankruptcy. They're also shit scared of what will happen when the import duties will be removed because of their inferior products. ASEAN countries had decided to reduce, or remove import duty a couple of years back, but due to Malaysia's strong position in the ASEAN, they were allowed two more years of protection for their national baby (Proton). Its a well-known fact that even 18 years after their first car, they still can't build cars right. Proton actually owns majority share in Lotus (that's right, of Lotus Esprit and Elise fame), and supposedly gathers engineering input from them. The first car they supposedly made by themselves was the Waja, but was later exposed to be mostly designed by Lotus. The engines are actually old, carburetted Renault engines that are INCREDIBLY inefficient in comparison to today's modern Japanese engines. Then came the Proton Gen-2, the car that was supposedly fully developed by Malaysians. Here's my question to Proton then. If this car was fully engineered and developed by Malaysians, uses 100% Malaysian parts and labour ... then why does it cost RM 57,000 and not RM 20,000? Generally speaking, in Malaysia, what will cost u one Canadian or US dollar in those countries will cost you one Ringgit. If what is being said is true - that the cars are fully Malaysian, where then, is all the revenue going?