Malaysia Airlines’ future still up in the air

Ragananthini Vethasalam Ragananthini Vethasalam Updated 4 years ago · Published on 6 Jun 2019 5:11PM · 3 Comments

PUTRAJAYA is still mulling the future of Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB), said Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali.

He said the government has yet to decide what to do with the financially troubled national carrier. 

“On MAS… no,” was his terse reply when asked for the decision on the airlines, to which he referred by its former acronym for Malaysian Airline System.

Azmin, who is on the board of directors of Khazanah Nasional Bhd, which owns MAB, was speaking at the prime minister’s Raya open house yesterday.

Azmin had said in March that the government did not have the means to bail out the loss-making airline and would have to consider various other options

Debate has raged over whether the government should pump more money into MAB or sell it

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said last month selling was an option.

“Everyone tells me we should do it this way or that way, but we have not received any viable solution,” he said, adding that Khazanah had already poured RM6 billion into MAB.

The fund injection in 2014 came with a 12-point plan to turn around the carrier.

However, MAB has failed to meet the plan’s ultimate goal, which is to be back in the black by the end of 2017.

MAB CEO Izham Ismail said earlier this week that it would be a wrong move to shutter the airline.

He hoped to see investors help turn around the national carrier.

Malaysia Airlines might not be profitable, but organisations, stakeholders, companies that give services to Malaysia Airlines are profitable, he said.

In addition to the 13,500 Malaysia Airlines employees, Izham said up to 400,000 people would be affected if the airline were to shut down. – June 6, 2019.

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Comments

  • Aduh, MAS is a pain in the arse. No one seems to know how to run this airline with its over sized employees.
    Just Sell the airline and stop the bleed in Khazanah! How many rescue operations were conducted and ended in failures?.. Why because Khazanah interferes with the decision of the operators appointed to turn around the airline.
    If Khazanah continues interfering with the decisions taken by whoever is appointed to manage the airline into profitability, the campaign would fail.. because one of your conditions to keep the 13,500 employees! You dont give much room to the operator to turn around the airline with such conditions. Some would have to go. 13,500 is an over inflated figure. Downsize or Die.
    Just give the business to a local and capable business entrepreneur or consortium of entrepreneurs, who can come together to turn the airline into profitability. I think of a few people... Wan Azmi, Syed Al Bulkary, Kamaruddin Meranun.... Tun, toy with this idea sir..

    Posted 4 years ago by Kampung Boy · Reply

  • Azmin Ali must think outside the box and not make rash statements that leaves everyone in limbo. He should make concrete recommendations to the PM even before MA becomes a problem..Sorry to say, hes not an effective minister after all.

    Posted 4 years ago by Kampung Boy · Reply

  • All started with Tajuddin Ramli since then it has been screwed by BN with unequal contracts. Let MACC in

    Posted 4 years ago by Kenneth Tan · Reply