The Malaysian Insider – Thu, Nov 27, 2014RELATED CONTENT
- Parliament passes MAS bill
The Dewan Rakyat today passed the Malaysian Airline System (MAS) Bhd (Administration) Bill 2014, which provides for the troubled carrier to be operated by a new entity.
The bill provides for Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) as the airline's new administrator and operator, as well as its wholly owned and partially owned subsidiary companies.
During the debate on the bill, Tony Pua (DAP-Petaling Jaya Utara) said that an act alone could not save the ailing airline as its failure was caused by bad management.
He said directly negotiated contracts as opposed to open tender, and cronyism, were also the reasons why MAS had failed.
"But we still see direct negotiations and the New Economic Policy is being promoted as helping the Malays when it is actually being misused to help cronies.
"If we don't correct all these, we will continue to see bailouts like this being brought to Parliament, this will not be the last," he said.
Pua blamed MAS's lopsided contracts with companies such as Brahim's Airline Catering Sdn Bhd for the carrier's downfall, citing as example the RM60 cost of nasi lemak, which he said was excessive.
"How to be profitable like that?
"I fly on Air Asia and only have to pay RM12.50 for their delicious nasi lemak, this is also expensive but at least Air Asia is profitable," Pua added.
Datuk Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah Raja Ahmad (PAS-Kuala Terengganu) said contracts like Brahim's which was a 25-year deal should be reviewed as promised by the government.
He said Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaludin was an interested party as Brahim's chairman, Datuk Ibrahim Ahmad Badawi, was his wife's uncle.
Raja Kamarul questioned the need for the amendment this morning, saying it was unfair and sneaky.
"Khairy, a minister, is an interested party. Did he have a part in this last-minute change and is he going to vote (on the bill)," he asked.
Hanipa Maidin (PAS-Sepang) wanted to know if the fate of the employees will be protected, saying this needed to be looked into as the problems faced by the carrier were not contributed by the staff.
Instead, he said those who created the problems, such as former MAS chairman Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli, were protected by the government.
Wong Chen (PKR-Kelana Jaya), in questioning the amendment, said it guaranteed existing suppliers that their contracts with the airline would be continued at the same rate.
He said the original clause had mentioned that this would be at the discretion of the administrator, adding that the amendment effectively took away the discretionary powers of the administrator.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Deparment, Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar, when winding up the debate, explained that the discretion remained with MAS's new administrator despite the amendment.
He said while the administrator was allowed to renegotiate contracts and to appoint new suppliers, there must be continued supply of goods and services with existing suppliers so that the airline's business was not disrupted.
The act shall apply for a period of five years, or until MAB is listed on the stock exchange, whichever is earlier.
The bill is part of plans by sovereign state fund Khazanah Nasional to restructure MAS, which has been in the red following two major disasters this year.
Flight MH370 to Beijing is still missing with 239 on board after nearly nine months, while flight MH17 enroute from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over war-torn eastern Ukraine in July, killing all 298 people on board. – November 27, 2014.
