Learn from Airasia, Mahathir tells MAS

The problem is not with the management of MAS, the problem is with the government, with Khazanah National that appoint the people to manage MAS. Learn from the Chinese who run SIA, learn the the Indian who run Air Asia, learn from an Orang Ulu who managed to turn MAS around - 1Christians

Dr Mahathir Mohamad has urged Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to study AirAsia's cost-cutting measures and management structure for it to return to the black.

Now was the best chance to understudy and see why the national carrier had plunged into a deep fiscal crisis while the budget airline was making profits, the former prime minister told Bernama.

The swap deal between Khazanah Nasional and key shareholder of AirAsia should tie them together, he said.

In August last year, MAS and AirAsia entered into a collaboration agreement that was strengthened by Tune Air and Khazanah - the major shareholders of AirAsia and MAS respectively - swapping their shares.

This resulted in Tune Air holding 20.5 percent equity interest in MAS and Khazanah owning 10 percent of AirAsia, and also Tune Air founder and co-founder Tony Fernandes and Kamarudin Meranun joining MAS' board.

"Given that both the airlines operate from the same country, there is no reason for MAS to fail. They have to team up with AirAsia," Mahathir said.

"AirAsia is making plenty of money. They are making profit even though their fares are very low.

"So there is something MAS can learn from AirAsia in terms of management, cutting down costs and therefore, making profit," he said.

MAS posted RM2.52 billion net loss for its financial year ended Dec 31, 2011 - the biggest-ever in its corporate history, on the back of RM13.9 billion revenue.

AirAsia, meanwhile, reported a net profit of RM564.1 million on the back of RM4.47 billion record revenue.

Asked whether Khazanah should divest its shares in MAS if the crisis continues, Mahathir said: "Well, I would not be able to say on that."

- Bernama

High time for a RCI (Royal Commission of Inquiry) on Malaysia Airlines

COMMENT

It’s a familiar story. Malaysia Airlines has once again now well passed the threshold of bankruptcy after chalking up RM2.52 billion in losses for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2011.

This means that the Umno gravy train at the airline and company alone can be conservatively estimated at RM3.5 billion for last year, that is, the losses plus a modest RM1 billion in after-tax profit.

The losses will continue, the bleeding will continue, thanks to the RM150 per serving nasi lemak syndrome, among others.

The inevitable bail-out, if not bankruptcy, looms unless Khazanah Nasional Bhd thinks out of the box. That concept will be explored further in a little while.

Hopefully, Petronas will not be called upon again to bail out Malaysian Airlines System Bhd (MAS), the company, with petrodollars stolen from Sabah and Sarawak which, according to the World Bank in 2010, have the dubious distinction of being the poorest states in Malaysia.

One question to consider before bail-outs is whether Khazanah Nasional should hand over its 50% stake in Tune Air Sdn Bhd to MAS to provide the company with yet another income stream. Tune Air has a 20% controlling stake in AirAsia. The other 80% of AirAsia shares are either owned by the staff or listed on the stock market.

History keeps repeating itself at MAS because obviously the people there are forced to keep doing whatever it is that they are doing in the same old manner ever since the Malaysia Singapore Airlines (MSA) split in 1972.

A long overdue Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) should be set up to probe MAS. AirAsia and Singapore Airlines should also be invited to provide testimony on the industry.

We have to determine as well how much of the losses at MAS are due to Malaysia Airlines being the national flag carrier. Anything national or under the Malaysia Boleh slogan, which covers a multitude of sins, should be suspect.

Political interference

One cannot expect a different and better result if the approach remains the same as the previous one which had proven to be disastrous.

The crux of the problem at MAS, externally and internally, is corruption. This means opportunism, nepotism, collusion and cronyism. Externally, there’s a lot of political interference from those who have nothing but the almighty ringgit sign in their eyes.

If leadership – delivering the goods – is all about being effective, the emphasis in management – getting people to work, getting work out of people, getting the work done – is on efficiency.

MAS fails on both points.

The proof is all there, splashed in red ink, in the latest figures announced on Feb 29. Why Feb 29 which comes only once in four years?

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Idris Jala, was doing well as MAS chief when he was suddenly removed under subtle political pressure to his present position which keeps him in the backroom.

The story was that many people were not happy with Jala during his time at MAS because they could no longer win Ali Baba contracts at inflated prices and promptly sub-contract them out to successive hands before the last person in the chain – usually a Chinese (the Baba) perennially on the brink of insolvency – fulfilled it for a pittance.

There’s the notorious example revealed in Parliament not so long ago of a so-called supplier charging MAS RM150 for each serving of the humble nasi lemak on board flights. This was a contract which went through numerous hands before being fulfilled by the last person at RM15 per serving. MAS could have sold the nasi lemak at RM25 per serving to passengers and still make a decent profit instead of burdening further them with a mark-up on the RM150.

No five-star hotel in Malaysia charges more than RM25 for a serving of nasi lemak.

Hare-brained exercise

After the outcry in Parliament, the supplier had to cut his rate to RM75 per nasi lemak serving. We don’t know how much MAS is charging passengers for nasi lemak after their mark-up.

The supplier, it was revealed in Parliament, was related to then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, “Mr Clean” himself.

However, Jala wasn’t the worst example of political interference in MAS.

There was the time, not so long ago, when Tajudin Ramli was literally handed MAS on a silver platter under a privatisation exercise which can only be described as hare-brained. The then prime minister was Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

We learnt that Tajudin became Mahathir’s scapegoat to cover up the RM15.5 billion in foreign exchange losses incurred by Bank Negara under his (Mahathir’s) direction.

Mahathir was assisted by Nor Mohamed Yakcop – then in Bank Negara – in this “crime”: gambling away the people’s money in speculation, even before he accused George Soros of being a moron on the same issue – speculation – during the Asian financial crisis in 1997-1998.

Nor Mohamed still remains in the government as a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department. He was even Finance Minister II not so long ago before being shunted sideways to his present position overseeing the revamp of the Economic Planning Unit (EPU).

MAS is a never-ending story, the kind of story which will one day see Malaysians witnessing at home the same Greek tragedy being played out in Athens.

Radical solution

One radical solution for the proposed RCI on Malaysia Airlines to consider is whether it would be feasible for Khazanah Nasional to exchange the national flag carrier lock, stock and barrel – minus liabilities and losses – with Tony Fernandes for his partner Kamarudin Meranun’s and his combined 50% stake in Tune Air Sdn Bhd.

Fernandes and Kamarudin are already on the board of MAS as non-independent, non-executive directors. Besides, the duo are members of the MAS management committee, whatever that means.

AirAsia in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines are of course different entities which Fernandes and his Malaysian partner and/or partners run in those countries with local partners.

If the Umno government can hand over MAS to Tajudin, there’s no reason why it can’t hand over the company, this time, to Fernandes – to prove its belief in 1Malaysia.

If Tune Air fails under Khazanah Nasional, it can always exchange the company again, along with AirAsia Malaysia, with Fernandes for MAS which will be doing extremely well by that time.

Bishop Paul Tan urges Hasan to heed MCCBCHST call

Catholic Bishop Dr Paul Tan Chee Eng said the challenge issued by the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST) to Dr Hasan Ali would either “induce a pause in him or spur him to further brazenness” in his campaign against alleged Christian proselytisation of Muslims.

“The challenge by the MCCBCHST is clear and unequivocal,” offered the prelate who has often publicly contested the claims made by the former Selangor state executive councillor for Islamic affairs who taken it upon himself to raise what Bishop Paul Tan describes as the “bogus specter” of Christian proselytisation.

“Either Hasan invokes the authority of the law against those who he alleges are engaged in this endeavour or he ceases and desists in his campaign which can inflame the feelings of Muslims towards Christians,” asserted the head of the Catholic Church in the Melaka-Johor diocese.

“I won’t go so far as to urge the authorities to charge him with sedition because I have my doubts over the efficacy of using obsolete laws to punish the erring,” explained the Jesuit-trained ecclesiastic.

“But in going on and on about what I consider is the bogus specter of Christian proselytisation of Muslims, he is inflaming the feelings of Muslims against Christians,” said Bishop Paul Tan.

Dangerous straits

“These are dangerous straits, so he either proffers the proof of his claims, in which case the laws must be allowed to take its course, or he stops his rabble rousing,” he asserted.

“The ideal situation would be that Muslims would be able to ascertain for themselves the truth or untruth of Hasan’s claims as the arguments of a Muslim academic in Malaysiakini so bracingly put forth,” argued the prelate.

“But the situation is far from ideal which is why the authorities, if they are sincere about their counsels in regard to moderation, should repudiate Hasan’s machinations,” said the bishop.

He congratulated the MCCBCHST for coming out with a statement that “courageously places the issue in stark terms so that there can be no more waffling on it - Hasan has either to proof his claims or cease and desist from pressing them.”

'We were assaulted, despite being guests at PM's event'

Kajang municipal councillor Lee Kee Hiong said today she and her entourage of some 20 former and current municipal councillors and residents, wearing green shirts, attended the groundbreaking ceremony for a new school in Bandar Sungai Long yesterday as guests.

"We were not  ‘samseng’ (hooligans) as accused by an Umno minister," she said.
Lee denied that the group was there to make trouble and had trespassed into BN’s ceremony, as claimed by Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Noh Omar.

To prove her point, Lee showed a copy of BN’s invitation leaflet which she had received at her house in Sungai Long, which is very close to the function venue.

As such, it was her belief that she was also invited as a guest, and her attendance at the function was to share the joy with other residents at a long-awaited new Chinese school for Bandar Sungai Long.


“This is the SRJK(C) we had fought for over a period of 12 years. We have waited patiently, no way (were we going to) mess up the ceremony,” Lee (left in picture) said.

“We were assaulted by a group of people, and then Noh showed up to accuse us of making trouble... I was very surprised by this,” she told a press conference in Bandar Mahkota Cheras today.

“In fact, I regretted that he didn’t apologise for the incident. We were prevented from entering and were beaten up,” she said, adding that Noh, as Selangor BN deputy chief, should have invited them in.
 
‘Please write only BN supporters are welcome’

“Next time, please write (on the leaflets) that the function is only meant for BN supporters,” Lee said.

Also present at the press conference were several others who claimed to have been assaulted yesterday, including fellow Kajang municipal councillors Cheong Siow Foon and Ng Tien Chee; Chen Fandao, an aide to the Serdang MP; and a DAP member, Chan Huan Guan.
  
Cheong (right in picture), said his choice to dress in green was a sign of a silent protest.

He said his intention was to show the prime minister (Najib Abdul Razak) that the rakyat opposed the Lynas rare earth plant in Gebeng, Kuantan.

Cheong also said that the man who assaulted him had also tried to snatch his cellphone, and he fought back.

“I use the cellphone to store photos of my little daughter, from the day she was born until she was 15 months old. I don’t have other copies,” he said.

“I am very angry ....they are not only samseng, but robbers, too. All this happened while the police were around,” he added.

However, Chan (left in picture) wasn’t so lucky. He claimed that his gold necklace, with a Buddha relic pendant, which was a gift from his mother 20 years ago, was snatched away during the chaos.

Chan estimated that the necklace was worth about RM5,000.

Investigate AG's role in ex-top cop's case, says MP

PAS wants institutions appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, including the Attorney-General's Chambers, to be restored to their original status, together with an independent investigation into Abdul Gani Patail's alleged misconduct.

The call was sparked by the revelations reported by Malaysiakini yesterday on former Commercial Crimes Investigation Department director Ramli Yusuff's allegations that Gani and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission "fixed" him and his men in 2007.

In making the call, PAS vice-president Mahfuz Omar (right) said there have been numerous allegations against Gani, such as "selective prosecution" and questions pertaining to his haj trip.

"I think it is time for the government to call an in-depth, independent inquiry into Gani's conduct following yesterday's revelations.

Ramli had claimed that Gani, along with former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan, had used the MACC to fix him and those working with him when he took action on a syndicate member who was placed under restricted residence in Jeli, Kelantan.

"The probe should not be conducted by the police or the MACC as they are answerable to the attorney-general.

"It must be independent and thorough as Gani has previously been alleged to have fabricated evidence in the Anwar Ibrahim black eye incident," Mahfuz said.

Ex-lord president's case cited

He said if there was a provision for the setting up of a tribunal, as was done in 1988 against the then lord president of the Supreme Court Salleh Abas,  then this should be initiated against Gani as well.

"Truly, we have to restore the integrity of the attorney-general and the Attorney-General's Chambers, since they should be truly independent.


"However, the position and office have been used by ‘the powers that be', including Umno politicians.

"Look at the National Feedlot Corporation scandal. The current CCID chief (Syed Ismail Syed Azizan) had recommended that NFC chairperson Mohamed Salleh Ismail, who is Shahrizat Abdul Jalil's husband, be charged with criminal breach of trust.

"But now, the AG's office is being used to delay and possibly cause the case to be swept under the carpet," Mahfuz said.

The PAS vice-president added that former chief justice Mohamad Dzaiddin Abdullah revealed recently that the courts were subservient to the government under an amendment made by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s administration, and it only showed there is no independence in the judiciary.

“Let me tell the judiciary that if it is not brave enough to deliver judgments against the government, it is better for the judges to resign. Why not judge song-bird competitions only?” he joked.


Judges, Mahfuz said, should dispense justice without fear or favour, even if decisions were against the government.

“Their job is to deliver justice,” he added.

Dzaiddin was reported to have said last month that Parliament passing of the amendment to Article 121 of the Federal Constitution effectively removed judicial power from the courts and made the judiciary subservient to Parliament.

When the former chief justice brought the matter up to the PM's Department, the de facto law minister, Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz, had agreed with the notion.

'Directors have taken out RM81.4mil from NFC'

Directors of the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) have transferred close to RM81.4 million from the company account to those of external companies as of 2009, DAP national publicity chief Tony Pua said today.

The amount, he said, is held by private companies under the directors without any guarantee  that the sum would be returned to NFC.

"The directors have emphasised that all these companies are either subsidiaries or associated with NFC.

“But the accounts since 2007 showed NFC has no subsidiaries," he said at a press conference at the DAP headquarters in Kuala Lumpur this morning.

 The NFC's 2009 audit report states:"Included in other receivables and deposits of the company is an amount of RM81,324,745 (2008: RM32,275,493) due by companies which are associated with certain directors of the company.

"The amounts are unsecured and have no fixed term of repayment."

Pua said: "This means that we don't know if we can get the money back."

Audit reports for 2008 and 2009

Reiterating that lending directly to company directors is against the Companies Act 1965, Pua speculated that the amount may have ballooned to over RM100 million after 2009, the accounts of which  have yet to be published.

The audit reports of 2008 and 2009 listed  the company directors as Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s (right) husband Mohamad Salleh Ismail and their three children, namely Wan Shahinur Izran Mohamad Salleh, Wan Izzana Fatimah Zabedah Mohamad Salleh and Wan Shahinur Izmir Mohamad Salleh.

The other five appointed directors were A Manaf Hussin, Mohd Mokhtar Ismail, Mat Ali Hassan, Raj D Ratnakumar and Norzam Md Nor.

However, Ratnakumar and Norzam resigned in 2009 while Alias Mohd Yassim was appointed in May 2010.

“Given that this amount of money was funded by taxpayers, I call upon NFC to immediately disclose every single cent of the RM81.4 million.


“There is a great need for accountability, money from the government cannot be used for anything or hidden away, it must be transparent and taxpayers must be informed,” he said.

If NFC fails to immediately disclose all the private companies that have drawn money from NFC, Pua said, he will push this matter before the Public Accounts Committee which will meet on Mar 5.

“I will make sure NFC is at the top of the agenda... I will demand a list of other receivables from who and to where,” he said.

According to its audit report from LM Chan & Associates, NFC had in 2007 suffered a loss of RM1.94 million, followed by RM7.04 million and RM10.94 million in 2008 and 2009, respectively.

For 2008 and 2009, NFC’s revenue cost exceeded its gross revenue, thus suffering a loss even before other operating costs and expenses were deducted.

As of 2009, it had piled up a total loss of RM19.93 million.

The audit reports also showed that the directors had forked out a total of RM1.11 million for the National Feedlot Project, however, the remaining was from the RM250 million government soft loan granted to NFC.

Christians mark 400 years of Malay Bible as ‘Allah’ case drags on

KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 — The opportunity to use the word “Allah” in a non-Muslim context remains a struggle for Christian Malaysians as they mark 400 years since the Bible was first published in the Malay language.

Christian scholars are huddling at a seminary in Seremban today, on the 400th anniversary of the Alkitab, in a conference that could shore up the Catholic Church’s case after it won, in 2009, the right to use the Arabic word to refer to God in its newspaper, The Herald.

The Malay version of the Bible embossed with the words ‘Christian Publication’ and a cross appeared from 2005 following a Home Ministry agreement with local distributors. — Picture by Choo Choy May

 
               
While Putrajaya has allowed churches nationwide to import the Malay-language Bible — first translated in 1612 — government lawyers refuse to withdraw their appeal against the Catholic Church’s suit. Organised by the Seminari Theoloji Malaysia (STM) and the Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM), the two-day conference kicked off this morning at 10 with an examination of the historical and theological perspectives on the translation of the Alkitab as well as the legal aspects concerning its print and distribution here.

The day-long closed-door conference will see speakers representing, among others, the BSM, local Christian think-tank Kairos Research Centre and the United Bible Societies, the world’s biggest Bible translator, publisher and distributor organisation with 146 members across 200 countries and territories.

Among the highlights of the conference is an exhibition of the Alkitab, first published in 1612 with the Malay translation of the Gospel of Matthew.

A similar public discussion will take place at the Trinity Methodist Church in Petaling Jaya tomorrow, STM spokesman Reverend Lim Kar Yong told The Malaysian Insider when contacted.

However, he stressed that the event was strictly for Christians.

Despite the Catholic Church winning a High Court decision on December 31, 2009 to publish the word “Allah”, its weekly paper The Herald has been blocked from doing so the past three years pending the Home Ministry’s appeal.

The case has been languishing in the Court of Appeal since.

But the controversy spilled over into the rights of Malaysia’s Christian population at large as shipments of Malay-language bibles catering to the Bahasa Malaysia-speaking Bumiputera Christians were also blocked or confiscated last year.

It was turned into election fodder in the run-up to last year’s Sarawak polls as Christians there make up nearly half of the state’s total population.

And despite Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s historic meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in Rome last July to establish diplomatic relations between Muslim-majority Malaysia and the Vatican, there has been little progress in resolving the “Allah” dispute.

Christians form 9.2 per cent of Malaysia’s 28.3 million-strong population.

The Christian and Muslim religious communities have been engaged in a tug-of-war over the word “Allah”, with the latter group arguing that its use should be exclusive to them on the grounds that Islam is monotheistic and the word “Allah” denotes the Muslim God.

Christians, however, have argued that “Allah” is an Arabic word that has been used by those of other religious beliefs, including the Jews, in reference to God in many other parts of the world, notably in Arab nations and Indonesia.