Past mistakes should serve as lesson to save Malaysia Airlines, says Anwar

SEPANG: Learn from past mistakes to prevent national air carrier Malaysia Airlines from collapsing, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The advice by the Prime Minister comes after noting that poor management and lavish spending during previous turnaround attempts almost led to the airline’s collapse.

“I saw this happening when I was former Finance Minister.

“The former treasury director-general told me that the airlines was headed for disaster if things continued the way they were,” he said at the launching of the MAB Academy Campus and groundbreaking for the Flight Simulation Centre on Friday (April 26).

Although the airline was undergoing turnaround programmes, Anwar said that there was unnecessary lavish spending to set up large warehouses and offices including buying art works.

“I witnessed how the airline was almost ruined when it was privatised haphazardly,” he said.

Anwar blamed pure greed of those who were previously in power which had resulted in airline staff not getting paid.

“What fault did the pilots do, the stewards as well as the technical engineers?

“They serve with excellence but were not given the salary they deserved,” he added.

As such, Anwar stressed that Malaysia Airlines must be managed accordingly in a transparent manner if it was to be profitable for the benefit of its personnel.

“Give proper focus and avoid leakages by looking at past experiences.

“Prove to the nation and people that we will be able to raise the dignity of the airline in the global arena if it is managed accordingly,” he said.

He commended Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) and Khazanah Nasional Bhd for turning the airlines around to make it profitable.

In 1994, the airline, which was formerly known as MAS, was privatised to former MAS executive chairman Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli who took a 32% majority stake in the airline.

However, it was bought back by the government following the 1997 Asian financial crisis at a cost of RM1.79bil.

The airlines had undergone several turnaround programmes since 1997 and had been delisted before taken over by sovereign wealth fund Khazanah.

About a third of the airline’s 20,000-strong staff or 6,000 workers were laid off following restructuring exercises.

Commenting on the academy, Anwar said that emphasis must not only be on technical matters but also on how to regain the airline’s status of having one of the most courteous flight attendants.

MAG relocated its training arm in Kelana Jaya to the current 1.8-hectare site at the former Malaysia Airlines’ headquarters in Sepang last December.

The academy houses state-of-the-art facilities including its very own flight simulator centre and a swimming pool for safety and emergency training.

The academy in Kelana Jaya was launched by Anwar in May 1996, almost 28 years ago when he was the then Finance Minister.