MAS Does it Again
A senior_employee of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has lodged a police report against a Dhaka-based freight company co-owned by a prominent member of Parliament here.
He alleged that the company - abetted by a MAS official in Dhaka -was committing fraud by under-declaring the weight of cargo transported by the airline.
The employee lodged the report at the Petaling Jaya police headquarters yesterday.
Contacted this evening for comments, the freight company co-owner Mohd Zin Mohamed - MP for Shah Alam and chairperson of the Backbenchers Club in Parliament - said he was not involved in operational matters but would investigate the allegation.
Police report
Two others, who claimed to have knowledge of the matter, briefed the media later at a press conference called by Teresa Kok, the DAP MP for Seputeh.
She conveyed the complainant’s wish for anonymity for self-protection in explaining why he was not at the briefing. However, she distributed copies of his police report to reporters.
In the copy, the complainant also named two MAS officials in Dhaka ( names withheld pending comments ) as being involved, and said the situation has resulted in substantial financial losses for the airline.
The report states that Silkways Cargo Services Ltd - a MAS general sales (freight) agent operating in Dhaka - has been involved in the weight cheating since the company was set up in September 2000.
Several instances of ‘cheating’ were detailed in the police report.
Citing a recent example, the complainant said that, o?n March 30, the manifest for a flight from Dhaka to Kuala Lumpur stated the cargo weight as 2,450kg.
(Freight carried by MAS must transit at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the national carrier’s main operations hub, before being sent to the final destination.)
When the cargo was unloaded at its final destination in Paris, a MAS official there found out that the actual weight was 2,999kg.
At a rate of US$1.87 (RM7.11) per kilogramme, the under-declaration of 549kg of cargo in this instance would have resulted in a loss of US$1,027 (RM3,901), the report said.
Copies of related documents - including information storage media
(documents showing the discrepancies) obtained from MAS and the general ledger of Silkways - were distributed to reporters.
The complainant also alleged that between July 14 and September 29, 2001, Silkways offered inducements worth RM1.1 million to the Dhaka-based MAS official, his family members and other officials in the form of flight tickets, ‘gifts’, ‘ business development money’ and ‘loans’.
This, the complainant claimed, was to enable the company to slip through the under-declaration in weight reporting.
Board meeting
Responding to the allegation, Mohd Zin said he has headed the board of directors for the past three years and has periodically travelled to Dhaka for board meetings. However, he stressed he was not involved in operational matters.
Asked to confirm an allegation that he holds 51 percent of shares in the company, he would o?nly say that he holds a "substantial" share. He declined to reveal the actual figure.
He said, however, that he would call for a board meeting in Dhaka to discuss the issue. Pressed as to the date, he replied: " Tak tahu....tengok bila saya senang ." ("I don’t know....wait until I am free.")
Referring to the police report, Mohd Zin claimed that Kok was "trying to gain political mileage by playing up the issue".
"Why did she mention my name during the press conference? The police report is not against me...I was not named in it. The police should investigate (the report) first. Kok should be careful, don’t try to slander me... I will go after her," he said.
Rough estimates
At the press conference, two others - who o?nly wished to be identified as Muhamad and Johan - said they were aware of the practice, but were uncertain about the total loss sustained by MAS in the process.
"Checks for weight accuracy are done at random during the transit stop at KLIA, so I am not sure exactly how much was involved," said Muhamad, a former MAS employee and now a businessman.
"Based o?n my rough estimates, I think that 1,000kg is under-reported o?n each flight. There are four flights a week from Dhaka to KL....you can calculate the amount lost each month."
Going by Muhamad’s estimates, MAS may have suffered losses amounting to RM3.4 million in two years.
Muhamad added that weight cheating also poses a hazard to passengers because it can affect the balance of the plane.
Asked what had prompted the trio to publicise the issue, Muhamad said they "don’t want to see MAS continue to suffer losses".
Johan’s presence was mainly to explain the details of the documents.
Successive losses
Meanwhile, Kok said she had raised the issue in Parliament during a debate o?n April 9.
"I have also submitted a memorandum (each) to the ministries of finance and transport, as well as to MAS," she said.
Although she has yet to receive any feedback, Kok added that she would pursue the matter with these authorities.
MAS had suffered successive losses since the 1997 regional financial crisis. However, a report in late February this year said the airline posted a net profit of RM330.40 million (USD87 million) in the last quarter of 2002.
This was against a loss of RM310.2 million in the same period in 2001.
So don't forget to add 10-20% to the landing weight and adjust your landing speed accordingly.
No wonder when I flared the aircraft lands with a thump. It had stalled.