The blatant looting in MAS began before TR's time but on a smaller scale. During Kamaruddin's time, the omnoputras and royal families made millions through RM2 shell companies and the GSA fiasco. This is a post form another thread :
MAS scams
Years ago, I was in Seattle for an acceptance/delivery flight of a B734 but Boeing refused to release the plane due to lack of financing. Enquiries to MAS HQ drew a blank and we sat around helpless. Finally after some protracted haggling for 2 weeks, Boeing finally released the plane.
Back in KUL, I found out from a Bank Negara bigwig that MAS was almost done in by their own greedy directors and political patrons. It seemed that after the 1991 Gulf war, there was a severe downturn in the aviation industry and a lot of leasing companies like ILFC, GPA, etc gave up their options to purchase B734s.
Earlier in the late 1980's to cater for expansion, MAS commissioned a study by a consortium of banks to look into air travel expansion and development in the domestic and regional market from the year 1990 onwards for a period of 7 years. After some seemingly exhaustive studies, this consortium of banks stipulated a growth of about 10% a year for 5 years tapering off before 1996, hence they recommended a 50%-70% increase in the B734 fleet. MAS then had about 15 B734's and the consortium consented to financing further purchase of up to 12 more B734 aircraft. This exhaustive study was tabled to the MAS board for approval. The consortium never heard from MAS again, but MAS shortly announced purchase of over 40 more B734s!!! So where did MAS get the financing for such a humungous aircraft order?
The BN official related that when the aircraft purchase study was presented, the MAS directors immediately see $$$ in front of their greedy eyes. The st up their own aircraft leasing companies like Bunga Raya, bunga Cengkeh etc to be based in the Carirbean British and American Virgin Islands. These were $2 shell companies but got their financing from greedy US banks......SO THEY DID NOT NEED FINANCING FROM THE CONSORTIUM OF MALAYSIAN BANKS!!!
After the Gulf War in 1991 caused a downturn in the aviation sector, international aircraft leasing companies like ILFC and GPA quickly cut their losses and rejected their options for more B734 purchases. THE MAS DIRECTORS JUMPED AT THE CHANCE TO EXPEDITE THEIR PURCHASE BY TAKING OVER THOSE OPTIONS, hoping to make a killing with their shell companies. All was well and dandy for a few months until the US financers stop pumping money as they know that the end game was near...so the shell companies set up by the greedy MAS directors and their corrupt political patrons were starved of cash and they couldn't pay Boeing for the planes. Hence when we turned up in Seattle for aircraft acceptance and delivery, Boeing wanted nothing to do with us!
So the MAS MD went back to the Malaysian consortium of banks to help bail out the mess.....they told him to fly a kite! So he went begging around in the UK and US, and finally managed to get some financing at exorbitant rates.
I was sceptical of this revelation until I found evidence.....before financing was choked off from the shell companies in the British/American Virgin island; the B734s had proud Malaysian leasing companies like bunga cengkeh, bunga mawar on their owner's plaques in the cockpit. Aircraft that came after the financing debacle had MAS as the owner!!!
So MAS was a money buffet train ravished by our own $$$$ hungry demons. No hope lah; it is forever the same story till today.