Let Malaysia Airlines fly on its own, says Public Accounts Committee
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) wants Putrajaya to decide whether it is going to help ailing Malaysia Airlines (MAS), now plagued with the mystery of missing flight MH370, or let it go.
PAC chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said Putrajaya has been helping MAS out for far too long even before the "open sky" policy, which has since resulted in increased competition due to the emergence of low-cost carriers.
"If you ask us, surely we have an opinion, why use public funds to revive MAS without any positive outcome.
"After so many years of helping MAS, and despite denials that the company does not get any government aid, Khazanah is the investor and the money comes from the government.
"So it is time the government made a decision whether or not to let MAS fly on its own," the Pulai MP said today in reference to state investment agency Khazanah Nasional Bhd.
Khazanah managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar had said earlier today that the company would be coming up with a restructuring plan to revive MAS within a year.
He also said that MAS needed improvements in its work culture as well as discipline, support, and also in terms of leadership and management.
"The final decision will be made by the government, our job is to give advice on what needs to be done," Azman had said.
Nur Jazlan, however, said today that the practice of injecting funds into the national airliner may have been suitable before the "open sky" policy came into play, but added that the current situation would pose difficulty for MAS to get back on track.
"The restructuring of MAS has been done many times since 1998, and by the same parties, so I hope this time it can bring about some positive solution towards reviving the airline.
"Previously MAS was protected under the National Aviation Policy and because of that the government was pumping in funds into the airline because it was consistent with government policy.
"But now that we have the 'open sky' policy with low-cost carriers in the market, this policy cannot be sustain and in any case, the future of MAS would depend on the country's aviation policy," Nur Jazlan added.
As such, the PAC chairman called on Putrajaya to seriously consider whether it ought to support MAS.
"The government has to decide if it is going to let MAS continue operations," he added.
The airline's losses increased again this year where it recorded net losses of RM443 million for the first quarter of the year ending March 31, 2014 compared with RM279 million in the same period last year. – June 10, 2014.
