Press Statement DSAI on MAS

Najib must respond to the nose-diving Malaysia Airlines (MAS), and protect MAS and its employees?

Malaysia Airlines reported its largest loss in history — RM2.52 billion — in 2011, it is currently co-owned by rivals AirAsia through a share-swap eight months ago and its 20,000 staff under eight unions still do not know what will happen to them.

Where is MAS heading? Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib has admitted recently of having second thoughts over the share-swap and conceded his government might have to decouple the two airlines. How long will he leave the matter and future of thousands of employees hanging? If he is intent on decoupling, will he share with the public what the cost of the exercise will be?

My position has been consistent. I opposed the share-swap immediately after it was inked eight months ago. I was concerned that having AirAsia and MAS under the same owners raised monopoly questions, that incoming AirAsia’s directors in MAS would possibly be violating corporate governance and the various employee unions were not consulted.

Today, with MAS’ fate unresolved, and its problems continuing I ask Najib:

i) How long will the 20,000 employees of MAS under 8 unions not know their fate? There are speculations workers will be forced out, or forced into a subsidiary airline and those left remaining not having enough say in reforming the struggling airline;

ii) What has MAS changed in terms of operational efficiency to counter rising fuel costs and reduce assets impairment, and reverse the RM2.52 billion loss to a profit making in the future?

I demand that the prime minister:

i) Admit to the Malaysian public that the AirAsia share-swap was a mistake;

ii) Undo the share swap and comprehensive collaboration framework;

iii) Suspend immediately plans of routes swaps between AirAsia and MAS and;

iv) Freeze any top management recruitment in MAS, to halt perceptions there is an ongoing “AirAsia-nisation”.

Malaysia Airlines cannot continue to be managed based on political decisions that have turned it into a loss making company and threaten the future of its 20,000 employees.

Malaysia Airlines future lies with its employees. Government should not interfere with business unnecessarily. It should empower its senior management staff and not embark on other half-baked measures.

The flag carrier is one of the many opportunities available for Dato’ Seri Najib to burnish his reform credentials and distance himself from the disastrous mistakes made in the past.

ANWAR IBRAHIM
Opposition Chief

Link to full article