New MAS structure ?

[Ironguts]

Well, since the out-the-with- old, there has been very little about in-with-the-New. What is happening? -I have not heard about "MASs" resignations of the favored few etc, or is it still a case of the incompetent rising to a level which they will never exceed?, when there are many below them who are willing to make the extra effort, but are are not in the favoured race/religion.

[MAStake]

New Chairman and new MD, but same people occupying the same seats, doing the same things (nothing) but keeping very much lower profiles.
Sh*t scared of collateral damage.

[crl]

Well said MAStake, well said indeed....

[MAStake]

New MAS but same old Mess.

[OldAce]

What! they still buying a plate of rice for $40/-

[tigerwood]

well, as what many in MAS (MeSS)said: different circus, same clowns

[MAStake]

It will take many many years of hard work and possibly a total change in the upper and middle management for MAS to crawl out of the hole that it's in today. As long as the changes are cosmetic (as they have been for the past two decades) then the change in MD and Chairman is a futile exercise.
Staff are treated badly, there is no concern for their well-being, everyone is paid well below the industry standard ....... I could go on and on. But all MAS staff know what I'm talking about.
I believe there is a genuine desire among the staff to see MAS resurrect itself. But as long as the present Mafia is running (or should I say "ruining") the airline there doesn't seem to be any possibility of that happening.
Mr MD, please talk to your staff .... the ones who pull their weight. You'll be frightened at what is going on.

MAStake (or is it MIStake?)

[milleniumdinosaur]

When pilots left MAS in droves that should have rung an alarm bell. But the singular action that was taken was a letter to an airline to the north to stop pinching MAS pilots. Such a negative approach of course made the pilots even more frustrated than they already were.
The recent move by two chief pilots to throw in their lot with another airline should have made it obvious to the powers-that-be that the situation was out of control.
But to-date nothing has been done to offer better conditions to the pilots. They are still subjected to the whims and fancies of incompetents who are more interested in vindictiveness and covering their own as*es.
What a shame that a-once proud airline could deteriorate to the mess it is today.

[Iso]

It has become an ethically, corporately, industrially, and socially challanged organisation; so what's new!

Good management is about surviving in this century, poor management is until next Friday. This is the new (old)action plan, the transformation procedure.

Step one: We must do something.
Step two: This is something.
Step three: Therefore we must do it.

And that, my friends is how it works.

[Shintaro9]

It's so sad that flt ops is in such a state and it's becoming such a stress for the staff. When the transformation exercise took place, one serious mistake was made in that no feedback from the grassroots were taken into consideration - not even one. That's why your problems keep repeating and your complains not being addressed. It's getting harder to make operations safe and legal. The new MD needs to act fast. We have been lucky so far.

[Iso]

Are you sure it was a mistake?

[Shintaro9]

Iso

I think so. If all's well and dandy, flops shd be running smoothly. Based on talks amongst crew, it sure isnt. One thing tho, is the crew not happy with flops or flops mgmt/personalities? Fuzzy there and quiet hard to finger. The transformation introduced some characters which increased the number of chiefies from 4 to 8. Did this increase the output and efficiency? Talks that the Camel's lobbying for a comeback and he's put in a mgmt paper on how flops shd be runned. Good grief and good luck to us. Another exodus?

[QNH1013]

MAS taking pilots from Garuda for their 737 F/O positions?!!? Please someone correct me or update me if I am wrong here.
Their recruitment policy continues to to be a joke and complex puzzle to me. What about the many qualified jobless citizens who are standing in line to join MAS?!

We all know who these recruitment Captains are....someone please tell them to do themselves, the company and the country a favour.

[Shintaro9]

Q..

Horrors man. That's not what I just heard. I heard it's for 744 FOs. That way the local FOs can be released for command. Why Garuda? Cheap labour? Desperate?

Latest info from MAS Tower. The Camel's paper is being reviewed and apparently they're impressed. The change is coming..we need all the good luck we can get.

Don't get stressed out man. If you are, join another airline, it's healthier. Rgds.

[MAStake]

It doesn't really matter whether it's the Camel or Dr Quack ....... it's like choosing between the devil and the deep blue sea. Just imagine the next generation .... the Pygmy or Joseph ....... that's enough to make anybody puke!!!

The incompetence, the inefficiencies, the vindictiveness and the total lack of any management skills is so evident, and yet these clowns continue to haunt the corridors of power, flaunting their lack of knowledge but demanding that all and sundry kowtow to them.

Cronyism is so blatant especially in the ranks of the CPs ........ same course from down under. Is this some sort of corporate policy?

Will the new MD take matters into his own hands and remove these incompetents or are we going through yet another exercise in futility and lack of will?

Shintaro, none of the staff were ever solicited for feedback as far as transformasi was concerned. It was rammed down our throats as the cure-all for all the abuses. We all know the outcome of this exercise. The abuse has never stopped, in fact it has accelerated.

We have the same people with new designations but ultimately it's the same old sh*t.

[Iso]

So there is something happening! The Mummy returns, was an excellent movie. Did you see any parallels?

[Ironguts]

Just hot off the Press - Malaysian Star:

I draw your attention to the first line of the consultant's "Fix It's":

Govt accepts recommendations for MAS overhaul
By B.K. Sidhu
THE government has accepted most of the recommendations of the Boston Consulting Group for a major shake-up of the management and business processes at Malaysia Airlines (MAS).
The recommendations include:
An overhaul of the senior management structure
Scrapping of several unprofitable routes
Revamp of the cargo division
Overhaul at the catering division
Consolidation of unprofitable subsidiaries.
According to the Boston Consulting Group report, the changes are necessary to return the airline to profitability and to restore the formerly strong international image of MAS.
The US management consultants are also recommending that MAS retains its domestic airline operations as these are crucial feeder services supporting its international routes.
Some quarters in the industry and government have suggested that MAS's domestic operations be hived off and transferred to another company because the domestic sector was a major loss centre for the national carrier.
Following the appointments in February of Tan Sri Azizan Zainal Abidin and Datuk Mohamad Nor Yusof as chairman and managing director respectively, MAS has entrusted the Boston Consulting Group to undertake a comprehensive study to identify the problems it was facing.
Azizan and Mohamad Nor were appointed by the government after it bought over the majority stake of 29.09% in MAS last December for RM1.79bil from Naluri Bhd, which is controlled by businessman Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli.
The Boston Consulting Group report is believed to have been presented to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad recently.
"The aim of the shake-up is to ensure that the national carrier, which has been in the red for the last four years, returns to profitability, and its image restored," a source close to the airline said.
"If MAS continues to maintain the existing processes and management structure, the bleeding is not likely to stop," he added.
MAS is scheduled to announce its financial results for the full year ended March 31 later this week.
According to Multex Global Estimate, the consensus forecast of 21 research houses which cover the national carrier is for a net loss of RM676.2mil for financial year 2001. The airline posted a net loss of RM258.6mil in 2000.
Star Business understands that MAS is expected to announce a far bigger net loss of between RM1bil and RM1.3bil.
Following the restructure recommended by the Boston Consulting Group, the airline is expected to return to profitability in two years.
On the airline's routes, the source said several would need to be reviewed and some scrapped; the national carrier has thus far terminated its Kuala Lumpur-Haadyai and Kuala Lumpur-Chiangmai sectors

Comments please people!

[snowmanfx]

Those divisions required for overhaul is long over dued. e.g. in catering; meals production have gone down but purchases have gone up, none of the major equipments are functioning properly, etc.

I hope BCG also recommend to reorganize the current flight schedule. The current schedule is based on 70's and 80's model without considering hub n spoke system; both frequency and connection time is inconvenient to passengers; hence more and more people are transiting in Singapore and Bangkok.

Accepting the BCG reports without mass firing of senior and middle management especially those appointed personally by mr. 019 is only hot air.

Without placing the airline's interest at top priority, no matter how many consultants or COO engaged by the Government, the report is worth only the paper it printed on.

[Shintaro9]

These were the same "con"-sultants that were engaged when 019 took over. Wonder how much they're charging this time and who's pocketing the commission. It's coming out of your pockets again. Disgusting.

Insofar as their recommendations are concerned, they better act fast. MAS loosing more money, now gonna lose routes, planes and what not. We gonna lose productivity and makan money. More frustrations along the way. Is there any hope for us crew?? I reckon our future is with other airlines (which are definitely better runned).

Stay cool...and hey what's happen to Dr Con??

[OldAce]

MAS’ RM1.3 bil losses show price paid for bailout: DAP
K Kabilan

1:45pm, Wed: The shocking pre-tax loss of RM1.3 billion suffered by Malaysian Airline System (MAS) - the highest in its history - showed that the government’s bailout of the national carrier is proving to be costly for Malaysians, said opposition leader Lim Guan Eng today.

The DAP vice-chairman said Malaysians have a right to ask whether the billions of ringgit of losses was the reward for the RM1.8 billion investment by the government in MAS late last year.

He was referring to the government’s decision to buy back shares from former MAS executive chairman Tajudin Ramli last December for RM1.79 billion.

The sale came under much criticism as Tajudin sold his controlling 29 per cent stake in the airline at RM8 per share even though the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange market price was at RM3.60 per share.

“Loss of confidence in the government’s financial integrity was complete when the RM1.8 billion was paid in cash even though the RM8 per share was at a 122 percent premium over the market price,” said Lim.

Public funds likely to be used

He added that the losses suffered by MAS was more than five times the previous year’s loss of RM237 million, adding that even shareholders’ funds have dropped 50 percent from RM3.5 billion to RM1.75 billion corresponding with the drop in net tangible asset per share from RM1.74 to 89 sen.

“This raises the possibility of further injection of billions of ringgit in public funds because long-term borrowings (of MAS) still remain high at RM7.9 billion,” added Lim.

“With the country going into an economic recession, the government should concentrate on spending money to help the 21 million Malaysians and not billions of ringgit to help selected individuals whose only qualification is that they are cronies of the country's top leadership.”

Yesterday MAS managing director Mohd Nor Mohd Yusof announced a pre-tax loss of RM1.3 billion for the financial year ended March 31, 2001. However, he expected the carrier to see profit in three years to come.

He said that MAS’ ongoing major turnaround programme was projected to result in a profit of RM341 million for the financial year ending March 31, 2004.

[OldAce]

With so much debts and deficits, and with minute assets left (contrary to what the Finance Minister had said 3 times in the media previously) it is little wonder if anyone want to buy MAS even for RM1.00

As I had predicted before no foreigner would want to buy MAS now.

At least there is one truth in what TR says before..."I have Celcom to go back to..what have you all"

The goverment is going to dig deeper into the coffer of public funds to bailout MAS further. If there is any funds left to plunder.

I heard also they are already planning to cut off flights to LA and European destinations and reduce fleet by half.

My suggestions to some of you guys/gals in MAS better start looking for a new career before it is too late.

[snowmanfx]

We hope what the MD briefed in the meeting today will be implemented;
- Mas to actively seeking for alliance.
- Add more frequency to regional route e.g. Manila, Shanghai, etc.
- Concentrate on trunk inter-con route i.e. London, Frankfurt, Sydney instead of flying all over the place.
- Based the schedule and route on hub and spokes system.
- Retaining catering, cargo, etc.
- Reorganizing reporting structure.

We find his brief is in the right direction i.e. similar practice as other successful airlines, which is a good sign.

We hope he will also take a leaf from Air France experience on how to turn an ailing airline back to profitability.

Above all, the MD need to remove cronies n dead woods from the management. Otherwise, they will not see all these plan implemented.

p.s. during the mr-019 era, the reason given for not going alliance was not commercial but 'lost of identity' citing Star Alliance multiple logo as an example.

btw, consultant is also known for con and insult ppl.

[fisherman]

No wonder, across the tarmac in Catering are losing RM60m+ last FY;

They are buying frozen lobster at a price higher than what you get from Eden Seafood.

A few of the ruperts just went to Europe to buy spare-parts for kitchen equipments and going to spent RM5 millions to repair (upgrade as what they claimed) the air-cond for lack of maintenance.

The head shed was sent there to take MCSB private for RM1 (yes one Ringgit), hence was trying hard to run at a lost. Obviuosly, this will not happen.

Hope the Internal Audit will pay them a visit soon; otherwise, will drag the airline down.

[OldAce]

The Finance Minister Tun Daim had just resigned. Is it because of the MAS scandal?

[a330]

Malaysian Airlines Sucks ....

don't you think so ?

[OldAce]

What do you expect after a bunch of crooks had taken over. It sucks realtime.

And the staff just bunches of 'Yes Man' or just Zombies.

[Goldwing2000]

Frankly the whole Govt should resign over this fiasco especially the big cheese. They're all carrying each others b**lls and scratching each others back while potraying that everything is normal. Absolutely disgraceful and what's worse is that they will get away with it!!!Hasn't the airline gone through enough humiliation and bled enough cash before the public says'enough is enough'. Trouble is, the trees are being shaken but the monkeys have not fallen and until someone cleans the slate this airline will struggle to be the among the best in the world where it richly deserves to be at.

--------------
If it moves, then funk it!

[barra21]

I wonder which routes to Oz will be under the spot light?

[a330]

i don't think this re-structuring will work man ... what do you guys think ? or it'll take ages . re-structuring or not still losing lots of money and pilots !!!

what are your predictions ?

[Shintaro9]

From what I hear the EVP positions will be gone. It's gonna be the MD running 5 (maybe 7) divisions, like the gold old TS Aziz's time. That's at corporate level. At flops level..well for as long as we have the geologist, who runs flops under the influence of 001,the hufac chap and alcohol, things are not going to improve. See the mini restructuring that flops undertook right under our noses. Human Resource Engagement became Human Factors Engagement. Standards, Methods & Processes became Process Management. Different titles, same clowns. 2 chiefs dissappeared to another airline, no announcements. 2 guys took over, no formal announcements. Why such covert operations? Good luck in the new restructuring exercise.

[Slasher]

Seems to me MAS will never ever change. Too much cronyism, crap and politics. Sad. Its not unique, it happens here in Nam too. Here things cant change because of the communist party. In Malaysia I hear things cant change because Mahatirs internal security act protects all the rackets and scams he and his cronys are into. Also protects Mahatir from being accountable. While Nam deserves the government it has (same as Malaysias but with bullets instead of prison terms) I dont think Malaysia does. I think a good dose of democracy (where the government is answerable to the people and not vice-versa) would be the first step in the right direction for a rehash of MAS. Until then itll be all just musical-chair games for the cronys and youll still be back where you are now in 5 years time. You cant control nor make the politicians answerable as long as this security act law stays. If you cant control the d!cks in power then this makes the whole mess none of your fault and yet you all get the blame.

[Ironguts]

So its going to be a 'MASs' reorganisation, and there will be another divison! oh dear.

I liked the anonymous analyst's comments at the end of this Malaysian Star article:

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2001/6/2/business/02b01bsd&newspage=Search

How true!

[Iso]

One of the first indicators to look out for about the seriousness of the re-structuring; is the purchase of new aircraft. If that is the case, then it might be just another 019 senario.

Keep your eye on the ball chaps. It's an interesting game, but not happening fast enough.

[Bob Hawke]

Slasher, obviously you know what it is like being an expat in MAS, as well as, in Nam. Saying that the problem is just the Government, is only partly the case of the whole sad Malaysia/MAS situation.

Have a look at the so-called Pilots association MAPA. It is a privileged elite organization being so incestuously intent on it’s own specific racial/religious agenda, in actively pursuing policies of exclusion, both explicit or implied (implied is the most practiced).

The result is, it has effectively isolated itself from the mainstream pilots group, resulting in national MOU respondents, and contractors alike, opting out of this cosy little club. Not to mention that many Malaysians are leaving anyway for better jobs as well. Strange that, now they will be caught in the contract/expat. Dilemma, rather ironical!

Funds are down, due are up, representation is abysmal, (non –existant, in some areas) and they plead for more money for some fancy shop lot which is of no consequence or importance to the rank & file. Just another Twin Towers exercise. Members object, and it’s immediately a smear campaign against those who did, why? MAPA Boleh!

If MAPA looked at what they SHOULD be doing, not what they would LIKE to be doing (individually), then they will gain the confidence of members, and potential members. It would be ideal if they worked towards objectively, the success of the Company and the fair & honest representation of ALL its members.

The difference between Nam and Malaysia, as you say, is that Malaysia could improve and make a difference. There is no doubt about it. With the right leadership and accountability, MAPA, & MAS, could rise from its current loses and become a strong powerful airline in the region. One that retains and attracts the best talent in the industry, instead of being deserted time and time again, mainly by the Nationals now. Good on you MAPA, that’s what I call a true benchmark of your representation of your members. Think about it!

[BorneoPilot]

Hello All,

Would like some advice on getting myself started on a pilot career in Malaysia.
I have 170hr TT, PPL, NIGHT, MULTI-IR
and getting my CPL in 2 month or so.
All Canadian ratings. when completed, will have at least 200hr TT. with 45hr Multi.
all piston time. (Katana DA20, C172, Beech Duchess)

am 26 years old, Malaysian, has SPM, science
subjects, good command of English, BM not so
fluent. wears glasses - thinking about getting lasik/ laser ops to 20/20.

very motivated, level headed and competent pilot.

any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Borneo

[Slasher]

Bob H I only understand about Malaysia from the on-line Western papers, MAS from the MAPA pilots forum until I lost the password, and from bumping into MAS crew at the bars on overnights (which is where I gained the most info). Ive done about 20 odd charters to KL (15 into Subung) and diverted to Kota Baru twice from Saigon (theres NO fuel there now? It was a very handy alternate).
If your pilot representatives has sold you out surely they can be booted during the next union elections? Even with the limited democracy Malaysia has can it be done without government interferance? Here in Nam the commies are into everything including any organised labor associations. Thats why nothing can change here for the better for at least another 30 years until the yuppies take over.

[OldAce]

PISS OFF Borneo Pilot. This is a MAS Restructure forum. I've seen you everywhere where you are not suppose to be. Always trying to deviate the forum issue....eh.

One of the MAS Taliban chickos eh. Piss off where you are suppose to be.

[OldAce]

I pick this from a newsgroup for your peruse.
Sorry it is in the Malay language.


PENERBANGAN Malaysia (MAS) mengalami kerugian sebelum cukai sebanyak RM1.303
bilion bagi operasi tahun kewangan yang berakhir pada 31 Mac 2001.

Kerugian tersebut adalah yang terbesar pernah dialami oleh syarikat
penerbangan kebangsaan itu.

Ia memeranjatkan banyak pihak lebih-lebih lagi kerana ia baru diambil alih
oleh kerajaan daripada kawalan tokoh korporat Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli.

Kerugian MAS itu bukanlah sesuatu yang muncul secara mendadak. Syarikat
penerbangan itu memang menanggung kerugian sejak tahun 1998 dan jumlahnya
terus meningkat sehingga kini.

Selepas membeli semula 29.9 peratus kepentingan MAS daripada Naluri Berhad,
kerajaan telah mengumumkan pasukan pengurusan MAS yang baru.

Kini MAS diterajui oleh Tan Sri Azizan Zainal Abidin selaku Pengerusi Bukan
Eksekutif manakala Datuk Md. Nor Md. Yusof dilantik sebagai Pengarah Urusan.

Wartawan ZAHARUDDIN MOHD. ALI, ABU HAKIM TANZIMUDDIN dan MOHD. FAUZI JAAFAR
telah menemu bual Md. Nor di Kuala Lumpur pada petang Jumaat lalu untuk
membincangkan masalah dan prospek syarikat penerbangan itu.

Md. Nor optimistik dengan masa depan MAS tetapi menegaskan, kesilapan lalu
tidak boleh diulangi.

Ketika mula-mula menjejakkan kaki di ibu pejabat MAS selepas beliau dilantik
sebagai Pengarah Urusan syarikat penerbangan itu, Md. Nor berkata, beliau
berasa panik melihat penyata aliran tunai MAS.

"Saya adalah seorang akauntan. Anda tentu faham kedudukannya jika seorang
akauntan panik melihat keadaan aliran tunai syarikat.''

MINGGUAN: Semasa Datuk mula-mula dilantik sebagai Pengarah Urusan MAS pada
bulan Mac lalu, apakah perkara utama yang Datuk nampak?

MD. NOR: Apabila saya melihat akaun MAS, saya lihat syarikat ini berada
dalam krisis kewangan dengan kecairan yang amat ketat. Saya terkejut dengan
jumlah kecairan yang ada dan keupayaannya untuk bertahan hingga ke akhir
tahun.

Kita telah melantik The Boston Consultancy Group untuk membuat kajian
mengenai kedudukan semasa MAS dan meneliti perkara-perkara yang diperlukan
untuk mengembalikan MAS agar memperoleh keuntungan.

Pada pandangan saya, MAS mempunyai segala keupayaan untuk kembali
mencatatkan keuntungan melalui pendekatan-pendekatan baru yang sedang dan
akan dilaksanakan.

Kajian selama enam minggu bermula Februari lalu itu menunjukkan bahawa model
perniagaan yang diamalkan sekarang tidak sesuai dengan keadaan semasa MAS.

Model yang diamalkan itu mungkin hanya sesuai ketika MAS mula-mula
beroperasi bersandarkan kepada andaian-andaian bahawa tidak berlaku sebarang
krisis sepanjang pelaksanaannya.

Apakah model yang Datuk maksudkan itu?

MD. NOR: Pada hari pertama bertugas, saya telah meminta penyata aliran tunai
MAS. Saya lihat MAS dilanda masalah kewangan, syarikat sedang dalam keadaan
tenat sejak agak lama.

Ini berlaku mungkin kerana model perniagaan tidak sesuai. Dengan mengambil
kira kedudukan kewangan, tanggungan dan lain-lain faktor, saya nampak bahawa
kita tidak boleh beroperasi dengan cara ini.

Saya dapati kos operasi MAS lebih tinggi daripada tahap industri dan
pesaing. Saya umpamakan MAS seperti sebuah rumah yang sepatutnya dibina dua
tingkat tetapi ia mempunyai ketinggian lima tingkat. Dalam situasi ini, kita
tidak akan boleh bertahan.

Ekoran itu, kita telah mengenal pasti beberapa perkara:

Pertama, dalam konteks strategi perniagaan terdapat percanggahan antara
keupayaan penerbangan dengan peluang perniagaan.

Kedua, dalam konteks operasi syarikat, setiap jabatan tidak beroperasi
seperti yang sepatutnya. Produktiviti mengecewakan. Tahap perkhidmatan juga
mengecewakan yang menyumbang kepada susutnya prestasi secara keseluruhan.

Ketiga, MAS adalah bersendirian dalam industri berbanding lain-lain syarikat
penerbangan antarabangsa yang telah membentuk gabungan sesama mereka.

Mengapa MAS masih belum membentuk gabungan dengan syarikat penerbangan
dunia?

MD. NOR: Saudara tanya saya soalan ini, jawapan saya ialah saya tak tahu.
Sukar bagi saya menjawabnya tetapi usaha-usaha sedang dibuat ke arah itu.

Dalam soal ini, kita sedang melihat berlakunya `pergeseran' di kalangan
syarikat-syarikat penerbangan yang membentuk gabungan itu termasuk rancangan
sesetengah ahli gabungan untuk menarik diri.

Jadi masih ada harapan bahawa gabungan yang telah sedia ada itu tidak akan
menutup peluang MAS sama sekali.

Bila agaknya Malaysia akan menyertai atau membentuk satu gabungan dengan
syarikat penerbangan lain?

MD. NOR: Seperti yang saya katakan, usaha ke arah itu sedang dijalankan dan
satu pengumuman mengenainya akan dibuat sedikit masa lagi.

Sebelum ini ada pihak mengatakan operasi domestik menyumbang kepada kerugian
MAS, malah terdapat cadangan untuk memisahkannya daripada operasi
antarabangsa MAS. Apa pandangan Datuk?

MD. NOR: Hasil penelitian kita mengenai subjek ini mendapati, walaupun
terdapat sedikit merit dalam perkara ini tetapi secara keseluruhannya
pemisahan itu bukanlah pilihan terbaik.

Saudara mesti ingat bahawa sesuatu andaian mungkin betul tetapi adalah
menjadi tanggungjawab kita untuk menguji setiap andaian.

Operasi domestik adalah satu kelebihan kepada MAS ke atas pesaing
terdekatnya. Pada saya, ia perlu disesuaikan dengan pendekatan baru yang
memanfaatkan MAS.

Melihat kepada senario semasa, apakah yang perlu MAS lakukan untuk kembali
ke atas landasan menjadi sebuah syarikat yang menguntungkan?

MD. NOR: Dalam hal ini, kita perlu tanya diri sendiri, apakah ada sesuatu
yang tidak kena?

Unjuran pasaran penerbangan di seluruh dunia mendapati rantau Asia sedang
dan akan mencatatkan pertumbuhan yang paling besar iaitu enam peratus
berbanding dengan rantau lain.

Adalah jelas bahawa Asia merupakan kawasan pertumbuhan besar dan kita berada
dalam kedudukan baik untuk mendapat hasil yang lebih baik.

Kita juga kena ingat satu prinsip yang penting, lebih jauh jarak
penerbangan, lebih banyak kos yang akan ditanggung. Jarak penerbangan yang
dekat sebenarnya memberi pulangan yang lebih besar.

Kedua-dua aspek ini menunjukkan Asia mempunyai potensi pertumbuhan yang
lebih besar. Dalam konteks ini, kita perlu menggandakan perkhidmatan di
rantau Asia.

Inilah yang dilakukan oleh pesaing kita. Mereka mempunyai kekerapan
perkhidmatan yang tinggi dalam lingkungan perkhidmatan jarak dekat (Asia)
dan hasilnya mereka memperoleh lebih banyak perolehan berbanding operasi
jarak jauh.

Malangnya, walaupun rantau Asia menawarkan peluang besar kepada MAS, tetapi
strategi semasa MAS tidak selari dengan kemahuan pasaran kerana kita mahu
menjalankan perkhidmatan penerbangan ke seluruh dunia.

Pada saya, tiada salahnya dengan strategi ini kerana jika kita telah
memutuskan untuk menjadi syarikat penerbangan dunia, operasi kita perlu
meliputi seluruh dunia. Bagaimanapun, implikasinya juga jelas iaitu untuk
mencakupi seluruh dunia, kita perlu mencapai kelas dunia.

Ini termasuklah mempunyai keupayaan kewangan yang besar. Masalahnya, keadaan
ini tidak selari dengan realiti. Realitinya ialah wujud permintaan yang
besar di Asia kerana terdapat banyak orang yang terbang ke sana sini dari
dan ke Asia.

Bagi sesebuah syarikat penerbangan, jika ia menguasai pasaran yang baik dan
kerap terbang ke sesuatu destinasi, kadar pulangan yang diperoleh boleh
menjadi lebih tinggi.

Boleh Datuk berikan contoh?

MD. NOR: Saya beri contoh. Katakan kita ada tiga syarikat penerbangan yang
beroperasi dari Kuala Lumpur ke Bangkok umpamanya dengan melakukan 10
penerbangan sehari.

Katakan MAS terbang enam kali manakala dua syarikat lain mendapat
perkhidmatan bakinya. Ini bermakna terdapat kecenderungan untuk kita
mempunyai penguasaan yang lebih baik iaitu dengan kapasiti 60 peratus
penerbangan kita akan memperoleh 75 peratus perolehan daripada destinasi ke
Bangkok itu.

Ini kerana kita dapat menyediakan keselesaan khususnya kepada ahli-ahli
perniagaan yang menjadi golongan yang membayar lebih berbanding pelancong
yang mungkin tidak begitu mengambil berat tarikh penerbangan pulang.

Banyak destinasi di Asia yang menawarkan peluang seumpama ini. Terdapat
sebuah syarikat pesaing mempunyai kekerapan yang tinggi berbanding dengan
MAS sedangkan di destinasi lain seperti Amerika Selatan dan Afrika, MAS dan
syarikat pesaing itu mempunyai kekerapan yang sama.

Biarlah saya berikan perbandingan dengan sebuah syarikat penerbangan negara
jiran. MAS sebenarnya terbang ke jumlah destinasi yang hampir sama banyak
dengan syarikat pesaing itu.

Kita terbang ke 60 destinasi tidak termasuk destinasi baru dan mereka pula
mempunyai perkhidmatan penerbangan ke 63 destinasi.

Bezanya ialah MAS hanya menawarkan perkhidmatan harian ke 40 peratus
daripada destinasi itu sedangkan syarikat pesaing menawarkan perkhidmatan
harian ke 60 peratus destinasi. Untuk menjadikan perkara ini lebih dramatik,
hanya enam peratus daripada penerbangan kita adalah dua kali sehari
berbanding mereka sebanyak 30 peratus.

MAS mempunyai liputan tetapi kekurangan kekerapan. Kita juga menghadapi
masalah mendapatkan hak pendaratan.

Antara sebab kita lebih sukar mendapat hak pendaratan berbanding dengan
Singapura ialah negara tersebut lebih diminati kerana kedudukannya sebagai
pusat perniagaan, kewangan serantau dan faktor-faktor yang berkaitan.

Satu lagi faktor ialah kita tidak mencapai tahap kecemerlangan yang
sepatutnya. Bahagian kejuruteraan dan penyenggaraan umpamanya adalah
kritikal kepada MAS kerana kita adalah sebuah syarikat yang beroperasi pada
aset yang intensif.

Perniagaan kita menggunakan aset yang mahal, contohnya sebuah pesawat sahaja
menelan kos AS$170 juta.

Masalahnya pesawat kita berada di bumi lebih lama daripada yang sepatutnya
iaitu pada kadar 60 peratus lebih tinggi berbanding pesawat pesaing. Ini
bermakna MAS mengalami kerugian dari segi penggunaan pesawat itu.

Selain itu, bahagian penyajian (MAS Catering) juga satu hal, mereka ini
turut terlibat dalam soal-soal pembersihan secara kontrak.

Produktiviti MAS memang jelas hanya mencapai satu pertiga daripada standard
pasaran.

Dari segi kapasiti, kita mempunyai komitmen yang besar. Kita sudah terikat
dengan komitmen termasuk penyerahan beberapa kapal terbang baru dalam tempoh
beberapa bulan yang akan datang.

Semua ini membawa kita kepada kedudukan semasa MAS sekarang. Kita tidak
boleh bertahan dan tidak boleh menjana wang tunai yang cukup.

Jadi kita kena fikir sesuatu yang boleh dilakukan untuk mengubah syarikat
ini kepada kedudukan yang menguntungkan.

Apakah rancangan MAS sekarang?

MD. NOR: Kita perlu menyusun semula model perniagaan MAS. Kita boleh mulakan
dengan melihat semula rangkaian penerbangan antarabangsa kita khususnya ke
destinasi tertentu.

Kita boleh melihat kepada kerjasama dua hala termasuk perkongsian kod atau
dalam ikatan yang mungkin tidak memerlukan kita terbang ke destinasi
tertentu tetapi kita masih mempunyai kehadiran di destinasi itu.

Di samping itu, kita akan meningkatkan operasi MAS ke tahap yang hampir
dengan standard industri.

Kita perlu menumpukan kepada destinasi yang lebih berdaya menjana keuntungan
misalnya ke Hong Kong. Kita perlu terbang 21 kali seminggu ke Hong Kong
tetapi kita hanya terbang lapan kali.

Di sinilah juga kerajaan boleh memainkan peranan dengan membantu MAS
mendapatkan lebih banyak hak pendaratan.

Sejauh mana benar dakwaan mengatakan MAS menawarkan harga tiket yang lebih
rendah berbanding syarikat penerbangan antarabangsa lain?

MD. NOR: Memang betul dakwaan itu dan ini sebenarnya merupakan satu
kesilapan. Sebagai syarikat tuan rumah (di Malaysia), MAS seharusnya menjadi
penentu harga. Pesaing akan datang dan mereka mungkin memotong harga tiket
tetapi mereka tidak akan mempunyai kapasiti untuk bersaing.

Kita mempunyai kapasiti untuk bersaing, malangnya kita menurunkan lagi harga
tiket kita. Sebab itulah syarikat-syarikat seperti British Airways
menamatkan perkhidmatan mereka ke Kuala Lumpur.

Sistem jualan tiket MAS juga mempunyai masalah untuk memastikan pulangan
terbaik diperoleh daripada setiap tiket yang dijual. Kita telah menempah
satu sistem baru yang akan mengatasi kelemahan ini.

MAS mempunyai 16 juta penumpang setahun. Jika setiap seorang penumpang
membayar lebih sedikit, ia akan memberi kesan yang besar kepada MAS. Ini
bermakna akan ada ruang untuk kita mengubah keadaan.

Mengapa MAS tidak mengurangkan kekerapan penerbangan dan menaikkan tambang
kerana buat masa ini jika kita terbang ke Ipoh misalnya, tambang kapal
terbang hampir sama dengan tambang kereta api. Kita juga ada lebuh raya yang
baik merentasi Utara dan Selatan. Mungkin MAS tidak perlu lagi terlalu kerap
terbang ke sesuatu destinasi tempatan?

MD. NOR: Itulah di antara beberapa cadangan yang kita sedang kaji. MAS
sedang memulakan penyusunan jaringan penerbangan di peringkat domestik.

Adakah selepas disusun, ia akan menguntungkan MAS?

MD. NOR: Tidak. Untuk membuat untung, tambang domestik mestilah adil. Harga
tiket mestilah mengikut nilai pasaran.

Selain itu juga kita perlu meningkatkan produktiviti. Benchmark (tanda aras)
adalah produktiviti. Kita kena tingkatkan produktiviti penyajian makanan,
perkhidmatan, pengendalian pendaratan, jualan dan barulah semuanya akan OK.

Dari segi benchmark penyajian, kita hanya menghasilkan tujuh penyajian sejam
berbanding benchmark antarabangsa iaitu 10 hingga 13 penyajian sejam.

Ini menunjukkan ada ruang untuk dibaiki. Dari segi penyenggaraan, semua
penyenggaraan dibayar dalam mata wang dolar Amerika Syarikat. Kelebihan kita
cuma kos upah pekerja. Kerana ia dibayar dalam mata wang ringgit, itulah
ruang untuk kita membaiki keadaan.

Kita kena berjimat. Misalnya dalam kes penyenggaraan Boeing 747, semua
adalah sama. Sama ada di Singapura, Malaysia atau mana-mana negara, harga
alat ganti sama, cuma untung kita ialah upah pekerja kita dibayar dalam mata
wang ringgit.

Pasal kapal terbang, undang-undang antarabangsa menjelaskan bahawa pada
setiap tahun ada kapal terbang yang perlu direhatkan untuk pemeriksaan
mandatori. Apa yang berlaku ketika itu ialah perancangan semula jam
penerbangan.

Oleh kerana berlaku penyenggaraan yang tidak menepati jadual, bila kita
kumpul jumlah jam kesemuanya, ia boleh sampai 10,000 jam tertunda atau
bersamaan dengan tergendalanya empat buah kapal terbang serentak. Jika ini
berlaku kita boleh rugi sampai RM50 juta.

Jadi kita kena merancang dengan baik. Kalau kita dapat jimatkan setengah
daripada kerugian itu ia sudah memadai.

Bagaimanakah program pemulihan MAS yang Datuk rancang boleh berjaya
sedangkan MAS rugi besar RM1.3 bilion tahun lalu?

MD. NOR: Jika diandaikan program penyusunan semula berjalan licin, kita akan
terus rugi pada tahun hadapan. Penjimatan-penjimatan yang kita buat hanya
boleh memotong kerugian ketika itu.

Dari segi harga tiket, kalau diuruskan dengan baik, ia akan memberikan
hasil. Bahagian operasi juga boleh memberi sumbangan kepada program
tersebut.

Program penyusunan semula ini turut mengambil kira keadaan ekonomi pada masa
depan, dan kita melakukannya dengan mengambil kira prospek ekonomi.

Kita mempunyai lima program iaitu kargo, penyenggaraan, jaringan
antarabangsa, penyajian dan harga.

Kita akan berbincang dengan juru perunding. Kesan apa yang kita lakukan
tidak akan dapat dilihat serta merta. Selain itu pakatan dengan syarikat
penerbangan asing sedang sibuk berjalan. Saya baru balik membincangkan
perkara itu dengan rakan-rakan dagangan kita.

Jika semuanya berjalan lancar, MAS akan untung semula pada tahun 2003 dan
awal 2004.

Bagaimana dengan penyusunan imbangan kira-kira syarikat yang Datuk katakan
sebagai mencemaskan sebelum ini?

MD. NOR: Kita akan menstrukturkan imbangan kira-kira. Jika program dimulakan
pada bulan Julai atau Ogos tahun ini, kita boleh lihat kesannya, tetapi ia
perlahan.

MAS sebenarnya masih rugi pada tahun ini (2001), kemudian rugi lagi pada
tahun 2002. Kesan penjimatan akan kita nampak pada akhir 2003 dan awal 2004.

Bila kita sudah menunjukkan keuntungan walaupun sedikit, barulah kita boleh
meminta para pelabur menyuntik wang (modal tambahan) mereka.

MAS juga akan mencartakan semula organisasi supaya lebih rata dan mempunyai
akauntabiliti. Kita ada Ketua Pegawai Kewangan (CFO) yang baru kerana
selepas ini kita akan banyak berurusan dengan kewangan korporat.

Bahagian pemasaran jualan juga akan lebih fokus. Ia adalah program segera.
Semua yang kita hendak buat ini ialah untuk bersaing dengan
syarikat-syarikat penerbangan lain.

Mengenai isu polisi sumber manusia, ia mungkin adalah langkah kedua, masanya
akan tiba kemudian. Semua program yang saya cakapkan tadi adalah langkah
pertama.

Dari segi kewangan, seperti saya katakan saya panik bila mula bekerja di
sini. Kita kena kaji perkara-perkara yang asas. MAS perlukan wang tunai,
kita hendakkan duit tunai. Kita tidak hendak orang berhutang, kita hendak
duit tunai.

Kita juga sedang minta kerajaan meluluskan kadar tambang baru. Kita ada
kapal terbang baru yang telah ditempah. Kapal terbang itu akan tiba. Kita
sudah tidak boleh tolak, kita sudah komited.

Jadi saya kena bersedia untuk soal-soal pembayaran. Ada atau tidak ada duit,
saya kena bayar juga.

Kita akan terima tiga buah kapal terbang baru untuk tahun semasa. Saya perlu
menyediakan wang yang banyak. Satu kapal terbang sahaja sudah berharga
AS$170 juta (RM646 juta).

Bagaimana cara MAS hendak mendapatkan wang bagi membayar tempahan kapal
terbang itu dalam keadaan sekarang ini?

MD. NOR: Saya kena mulakan. Insya-Allah pada pertengahan Julai, kita akan
dapat. Imbangan kira-kira MAS tidak kukuh. Masalah sekarang ialah pada
peringkat kewangan korporat, bukan kakitangan. Tetapi dalam hal ini, semua
pihak dalam MAS kena tingkatkan produktiviti kerja dan kualiti.

Apakah sambutan pekerja terhadap pendekatan yang cuba Datuk lakukan untuk
mengembalikan MAS sebagai syarikat yang menguntungkan?

MD. NOR: Setakat ini sambutan mereka menggalakkan. Pekerja yang tegar pun
boleh terima. Saya masih baru tetapi saya lihat ada banyak kebanggaan di
dalam syarikat ini.

Saya katakan kepada mereka, semua kakitangan menyumbang kepada MAS. Semua
kakitangan boleh menyumbang untuk penjimatan dan mendapatkan keuntungan
untuk MAS.

Selama ini banyak pihak beranggapan harga minyak yang tinggi menyebabkan
kerugian kepada MAS, benarkah?

MD. NOR: Kita tidak terperangkap dengan masalah ini. MAS cukup bijak.
Kerugian bukan pasal harga minyak. Kalau isu harga minyak digunakan, semua
syarikat penerbangan akan rugi.

Sekarang ini harga minyak pesawat ialah 111 sen AS seliter, dulu ialah pada
kadar lebih 80 sen AS seliter.

Kita terperangkap pada masa lepas sebab kita tidak buat pembelian awal. Kali
ini ia tidak akan berlaku lagi. Saya berharap ringgit tidak akan dinilai
semula.

Bagaimana dengan operasi penerbangan luar negara, adakah MAS akan
mengurangkan perjalanan ke tempat-tempat yang jauh dan tidak menguntungkan?

MD. NOR: Soal ini ada cabarannya, ia adalah cabaran kepada pembuat dasar.
Bila kita cakap ada pihak yang akan beremosi.

Ya, kita akan kurangkan atau hapuskan. Kalau kita tidak kurangkan laluan
antarabangsa yang tidak menguntungkan, kita memerlukan sokongan. Kalau tiada
sokongan, bagaimana?

Penilaian semula itu mesti diambil kira dan diterima. Kita faham bahawa
bukan mudah untuk mendapatkan laluan itu kerana ia membabitkan hubungan
Malaysia dengan negara lain. Kalau kita hapuskannya, tidak mungkin kita akan
dapat kembali laluan itu pada masa akan datang.

Pada saya, MAS mempunyai kepentingan kepada negara. MAS cukup menarik, sebab
itu Boeing dan Airbus selalu jumpa kita. MAS ialah satu-satunya syarikat
penerbangan di Asia Tenggara yang tidak membentuk pakatan.

Sebenarnya rantau Asia adalah laluan yang paling menguntungkan. Bagaimana
untuk kita membuat pakatan sedangkan kebanyakan pakatan atau penggabungan
adalah bersifat semasa dan bergantung kepada kesesuaian. Walaupun
syarikat-syarikat penerbangan bergabung, tetapi hak mendarat masih milik
kerajaan.

[squak7700]

I think the employees are so disgusted with all previous shakeup that the recent one is no different.
I like the award given out by flight ops to one of the cadet pilot,named THE MOST IMPROVED CADET.Guess who his father is?He sits in the interview board and gives other candidate a hard time,insulting them of their capability and now sits on the same board to offer the award.
And this is the same guy who will eventually be the new manager in flight ops.So what is new.

[Shintaro9]

The new MD seems to have a grasp of the problems MAS is facing. Judging from the excerpt of the interwiew, he seems to have an idea on how to rescue MAS. However, he needs to tackle the issue of incompetent people in important positions (especially in Flt Ops). To me this is key if he wants to fix the problems successfully. And he has to realise that Flt Ops is full of incompetent people. A good example is the father of the Most Improved Cadet Pilot. How he got his position is questionable and what actually is his position nobody knows. Has anybody managed a decent conversation with him? Nobody can because he's wierd. Yet he hires and fires according to his whims and fancies . Some of the candidates that he's selected is from another planet - wierd, most likely related to him or his friends. Nepotism and cronyism at its best don't you think so. The geologist allows this, and this is why people are angry. We need trustworthy, qualified, competent professionals in Flt Ops (or for that matter in MAS) who are transparent at all times. Mr MD, please put the right people in the right position. If not its another futile exercise, another whitewash. At this moment in time only you can save MAS.

[OldAce]

Bagaimana dengan operasi penerbangan luar negara, adakah MAS akan mengurangkan perjalanan ke tempat-tempat yang jauh dan tidak menguntungkan?

MD. NOR: Soal ini ada cabarannya, ia adalah cabaran kepada pembuat dasar. Bila kita cakap ada pihak yang akan beremosi. Ya, kita akan kurangkan atau hapuskan. Kalau kita tidak kurangkan laluan antarabangsa yang tidak menguntungkan, kita memerlukan sokongan. Kalau tiada sokongan, bagaimana?

The way it looks, if the government do not pump in more money Mr. MD is going to reduce frequencies or eliminate it completely for some destinations. When that happens many pilots and cabin crew are going to be retrenched. Most probably the least senior members as the retrenchment payout will be less.

Kita juga kena ingat satu prinsip yang penting, lebih jauh jarak penerbangan, lebih banyak kos yang akan ditanggung. Jarak penerbangan yang dekat sebenarnya memberi pulangan yang lebih besar.

What rubbish is he talking about. In that case how come the domestic sector is losing money.

MD. NOR: Setakat ini sambutan mereka menggalakkan. Pekerja yang tegar pun boleh terima. Saya masih baru tetapi saya lihat ada banyak kebanggaan didalam syarikat ini.

By this time TR had laughed all the way to the bank. The MD they had chosen had to unraveled the mess he had left behind.

I do not envy the position of the MD. He was being picked solely by his profession as an accountant. As he admitted himself he had very little knowledge of airline operation. Just like our Director of Operation, Dr. Con the geologist. Who ordered pilots to fly medium range with fuel just enough for 5 minutes alternate diversion.

And what had pride to do with profit. Its proper planning and accountability.

[PILOST]

Old Ace my long lost friend, as much as I am agreeable that MAS is in the deep end, IMHO, we'll survive as it's in the national interest.

Obviously you were with us once before & left for greener pastures (can't blame you, as only the brave would stick & repair a derelict ship).You are also not privy to his roadshow which actually explain his views.

Basically in a nutshell, through his audit & by the consultant's reports, he found a lot of revenue mismanagement & wastage.He also compared (horrors of horrors) with our competitor from the south!A first as I can recall from a senior management who swallowed national pride & admitted that the neighbouring airline shall be a yardstick.

When he talk about "jarak penerbangan yg dekat" what he meant was the regional market rather than domestic.As the Asian market has the biggest growth & the best profit margins.

As for the pride, he was refering to the workers sense of camaderie & belonging to the company.As you have seen for yourself Old Ace, the workers soldiers on in the hope that one day MAS will be the Airline that it deserves to be.THAT IS PRIDE.We'll leave the planning & accountability in the next general election.

Last but not least Old Ace, please do not insult the remaining MAS pilot's intelligence on flying with a diversion of less than 5 minutes.Every pilot worth his salt would know that MAS's SOP's, ICAO & DCA Malaysia has strict policy with regards to selection of alternates, let alone an alternate which is just 5 mins away.

Till then my friend, blue skies always & enjoy your spoils in the foreign airline.

Safe Flying.

P.S. Old Ace try not to shoot the messenger. http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/tongue.gif

http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/cool.gif
PILOST

[OldAce]

Pilost my poor brave friend on a delerict ship, as usual you do not get the gist of the message. What I'm trying to get at is that if you have a leader who do not understand the industry fully, the company can end up into a lot of trouble.

If your poor memory can help you (maybe you were not given this situation as you are the Camel's men) we were doing the KUL-LHR div Gatwick and LHR-DXB div Sharjah. This were implemented during Camel period (1994-1996) and carried on for quite awhile during Dr.Con time. Where were you during this time, flying 737? If not were you one of those 'Yes Man" or just another 'zombies". The real brave pilots fought against this policy and were mostly engineered out of the company. They were only corrected in 1999.

Huge aviation company had come and gone. Like the once US national carrier Pan Am and Eastern Airline. So what is special about MAS. Pride alone is not going to help to bring the airline up. I think the Malays called it 'Bodoh Sombong". If you leave the planning and accountablity to the next general election(2004)it will be way too late. As the new MD himself had said MAS can only survive till the end of this year.



[This message has been edited by OldAce (edited 13 June 2001).]

[OldAce]

Shintaro9: I know who you mean, he is none other than 'Jew' the Taliban Camel left -handman. If you can come real close to him you will see that he wears a black eyeliner. You know why Dr Con the geologist let him do what he wants. The majority of the Flt Ops management are the incompetent Taliban and he is scared that they will gang up on him.

(see "For Malaysian Airline Pilot Only" to understand what had happened.

[Shintaro9]

Prior to 019's departure, a few of the EVP's (the ambitious one) went on a turun padang, to meet the grassroots. In those sessions they impressed upon us that the company is doing badly and can only survive "till the end of the year". They did not specify which year though! Blamed a lot of things (USD, recession, currency issues. oil prices..) on company's poor performance, also hinted that we, the staff also screwed up (not enough productivity, too many..). Strangely, they did not at all blamed themselves for the mess that we are in. With all this going on..ding..one more new position, SVP Treasury & Risk Management.

Now this new MD (an accountant)saw the sheets and was shocked. So, he's got rescue plans and he's going to restructure. For flt ops, the geologist is retiring and I hope that they wont extend him, he thinks running ops is like a show, thus his showtime. I ask you where is the script and the drama? In the running is the 2 vices. One has burnt out, too many pacific crossings and eating sushi only. The other, Pygmy is doing very well. He's been seen doing his PR and is even rubbing shoulders with the MD (schoolmates from the military college). Pyg also once served under Dy Chairman when he was in the air farce. As for the chiefies, musical chairs is in order. We have 2 new ones, Safety and Fleet Management. Same old "dont and wont rock the boat" Training guy and the VP wannabe (the Hufac and the PM guys). FCSD guy's so busy, and the P&D guy, busy too, planning and deploying himself on the SYD run. And the Marketing chief, he's marketed himself so well, he's now in another division. Doesn't even greet the geologist nowadays. So when Pyg takes over, a new flt ops management.

Anybody know how to apply for another airline. North, south, east or west, it only can get better. Help http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/frown.gif

[PILOST]

Hey Old Ace, nice to hear that you're doing well.

Nope, was & still never a Camel's yes man or supporter.However,during the trying times of those so called 'nearest' alternate directive, I took the option of sticking to Malaysian DCA's & ICAO's regulations.Funny thing was, they never hauled me up for the extra fuel.The rest who followed blindly was either ignorant or just 'yes man'.Like you said "bodoh sombong".

As for MAS not surviving........heard it before & will hear it again & again & again & again......like a broken record with Duracell batteries!The nice part about this cronyism thing is that I can count on my money being banked in at the 25th of every month.....without fail.As the saying among the employees now ..... "sekarang dah Gomen". http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/tongue.gif

Shintaro9, a very true observation of the mismanagement & creation of futher post in the very top heavy hierachy of Flt Ops.A lot of 'chiefs' but very little indians........Lone Ranger must be very confused now. http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/tongue.gif

Safe Flying all,

http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/cool.gif
PILOST

[OldAce]

Pilost what you going to say next....landing on a single runway airport with no diversion fuel is OK...

How come the CFP can be presented to the crew
with 5 minutes diversion if its is not a policy or directive.

It it some devious scheme to 'catch' non- Taliban members to make a mistake? At the expense of safety and the full paying passenger.

[PILOST]

YES OLD ACE.That's allowable.......provided you carry required holding reserves fuel.Eg. Perth.

Or are you not a pilot.........hmmmmmmm, I'm doubting you now Old Arse.....

Like the saying goes, "little knowledge is dangerous".

http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/cool.gif
PILOST

[snowmanfx]

I heard EVPs have become Expired VP and Dr. Con was called by MD for a talk and likely to move up one more level. Just an office gossip.

[MAStake]

Incompetence has its rewards.

[OldAce]

Pilost:

Perth is not a single runway airport. I think it got a shorter runway crisscrossing the main runway. So the rules does not apply.

We have been through this matter before on Pprune and I know you were there. To refresh your rusty brain, FAA make it a rule that you do not need B-C fuel if the weather is good on a twin runway airport. Quantas was doing the LAX-SYD with no diversion fuel provided the weather forecast at destination is good.

MAS under the rule of the Talibans in Flt Ops in 1995 make it a law that you can land in old Subang airport with no diversion fuel provided the weather is good. Twisting the actual FAA rule. This is to catch the non-Taliban ‘zombies’. So many pilots were landing in Subang under this situation then.

We almost got a major disaster in 1996 when an A-300 got bogged down in the middle of Subang runway after landing. Luckily the B747-400 from LHR (which as usual does not have the required diversion fuel ) was 30 minutes behind when they got the news and diverted to Penang in time. Imagine if the Jumbo were to come in earlier by just 15-20 minute they would be in Subang curcuit with nowhere to land. Subang was having clear weather at that time. It took 3 hours to clear the runway.

It looks like nothing much had change for MAS with people like Pilost who are forever ‘lost’. Holding fuel on a single runway airport would make my toes laugh all over again.

[Slasher]

I take it MAS management hasnt a clue about the practical aspects of carrying extra fuel while flying in the equatorial regions? Glad I dont work for them!

[kurmitola]

Same here, glad not to have you as well. Like our southern neighbours. BTW, OA, it is spelled QANTAS and circuit......( pilot ? %#@*%"&*#$@). Dr. Con will continue his legacy...conning all the way up as high as he can. Camel...meanwhile is still dreaming about making a comeback with "Jew" setting the pace and planning to award him with " the most improved SVP ". The company ( sekarang dah gomen) continue to be on life-support ( read Petronas) until someone put words into action.

P>S Just heard SQ got a big payrise with 6.2 months bonus and EK got 5% payrise plus some profit sharing. Hmmmmmm when are we going to get the next ex-gratia .....

[PILOST]

Old Ace, you now have no credibility.PER is considered by MAS as a single runway airport, even though it has 3 (yes 3!) rwys.

Even with those 3 runways, MAS had classified PER airport to have a single runway for flt planning purposes as the rwys are not independent by ICAO's definition.So for that single rwy we have to carry 2 hours of holding fuel as required by ICAO & the OZ CASA.

As for the SZB ops, you again had exposed yourself as a fraud!The so called no diversion fuel requirements are really the inflight fuel policy.This again relates to 2 or more independent rwys.The FACT that there were no so called 'disaster' as you have seemingly cried 'wolf' further exposes your credibility to ridicule.

Please understand I'm not here to defend MAS's mismanagement but rather to defend the honour & integrity of MAS's pilots by blanket accusations from Old Ace.

Old Ace had clearly showed in his postings that he has no inclinations or knowledge of aviation regulatory requirements.

BTW Slasher, MAS's fuel policy caters for the A to B, contingency reserves fuel that are legally required,B to C fuel,inst app. fuel, a few percentage extra & any other fuel as required by the authorities (whether local or overseas).ABOVE ALL THAT, MAS has never hauled up a pilot for carrying extra fuel when the pilots think it is prudent.So Slash, don't believe whatever you read. ;)

Till then all, Safe flying.

http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/cool.gif
PILOST

[OldAce]

Pilost says MAS Flt Ops management never pull up a pilot for carrying extra fuel if the pilot think it is prudent.

What can I say.....only my toes will say HAHAHAHAHA!

Remember at that time the pilots were so fedup being harrassed by management for carrying extra fuel, that most of them just took this stand-just carry minimum all the time however bad the condition is.

[PILOST]

Old Ace your toes can do whatever they want..... http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/tongue.gif

YOU HAVE NO CREDIBILITY.

http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/cool.gif
PILOST

[OldAce]

Pilost said:"Even with those 3 runways, MAS had classified PER airport to have a single runway for flt planning purposes as the rwys are not independent by ICAO's definition.So for that single rwy we have to carry 2 hours of holding fuel as required by ICAO & the OZ CASA."

Pilost, my poor 'lost' friend in MAS, I haven't been to Perth for more than 10 years. I remember that the 2 hours extra fuel we used to carry was for the diversion to an airport to the north of Western Australian coast.

If MAS management had told you it is for holding fuel, it looks kind of strange. Or are you the strange one?

[This message has been edited by OldAce (edited 15 June 2001).]

[PILOST]

Old Ace, obviously you're not with MAS, neither are you an airline pilot.

If not you'll be familiar with fuel requirements as set out by ICAO annexe 6 (Ops. of a/c) & the Oz AIP.FYI, there are no 'commercially suitable' alternate to the north of W.A. coast.In other words, you can divert, but there will be no ground support.

Old Ace, you have time & time again showed your stupidity & ignorance of the basic rules of commercial flying requirements set out by the local & international regulatory bodies.These are the very fundamentals subject thought to every commercial pilots worldwide.

Old Ace, please stop embarassing yourself.

OLD ACE, YOU'RE THE WEAKEST LINK!GOODBYE!

http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/cool.gif
PILOST



[This message has been edited by PILOST (edited 15 June 2001).]

[BorneoPilot]

Is this kinda attitude a sign of a professional Pilot? I am very afraid to head back to Malaysia then! I find this kind of petty bickering very troubling. Hope it is not that way in the cockpit.

[Slasher]

Listen BorneoPilot Ive done my best to ignore you but why in the name of christ would anyone want to leave a pleasant place like Canada and go to Malaysia to live? It amazes me how almost everyone in the third world is busting there balls to get out and you complain you cant get back in?
Cant you cope with democracy, civil rights and free speech?

[Slasher]

BTW FYI OldAce when I was on TN 727s back in Oz we carried as much as we could into Perth ex-Eastern states especialy in case of early morning advection fog (forecast or unforecast). But a few times we did end up in Meekatharra (twice) and Learmonth (once). Perths fog was a real bloodey pain.

[OldAce]

BorneoPilot says: Is this kinda attitude a sign of a professional Pilot? I am very afraid to head back to Malaysia then! I find this kind of petty bickering very troubling. Hope it is not that way in the cockpit.

At last you are on the same frequency. Yes what Slasher said is right. With your adopted western ideas and attitude you are going to get f#cked in Malaysia. We are still having Lords and OverLord Feudal system under the guise of democracy. That is why MAS is now such a scr#wed-up place, under emergency life support.

During the Taliban rule and I think to a certain extend until today, when 2 set of cockpit crew operates for long haul, sometimes the 2 Captain not only do not want to communicate with each other they don’t even cross each other path in the aircraft. The B-Team co-pilot will take over the cockpit first while the A-Team Captain vacate his seat. The B-Team Captain will only take over when the A-Captain was out of sight.

I always try not to mix up responsibilities and personal affairs in the cockpit. But it is difficult. The B-Team Captain is supposed to brief the A-Team Captain before he takes over on the last one hour of the flight before landing even thought there was no written rule on it then. Unfortunately it does not always happen so. I had always made the briefing even though the other Captain is my worst enemy.

I remember a few years back on a KUL-LHR flight of 14.5 hours in winter the other Captain and co-pilot completely disappeared after we took over without briefing us. We found out we’re going to have only 4 ton of fuel on arrival in LHR. When we handed over the aircraft to them earlier we noted we’re going to have 9 ton arrival fuel. (What happened was this Captain had climbed to a higher altitude much earlier than scheduled and had incurred a fuel penalty). As the weather in LHR and Gatwick was marginal we make an unscheduled stop over Frankfurt.

When we got back to KUL later I was hauled up on the red carpet to explain things. I heard the B-Team Captain was never called up as he was a close associate of the Taliban management.

And the tit for tat goes on.

[kurmitola]

Most people from third world country....but not Malaysian my friend. Anyway, anyone espcially people like OA are free to leave if he had not done that already.Trying to do some maths here....hmmmm 14.5 hours, team B took over after 4 hours ( 9 tons on arrival ..must be working on LGW for alternate and guess what ? Team A not worried and no B#**s to take additional fuel....) team B climb early and stayed for7 hours and loss 5 tons what aircraft is that OA ? are you sure they did not descend ...sudahlah... too much MS Flight Simulator 2000 , why not try getting a PPL first that will help provided airlines take Old retired Air farce guys . Stop exposing your pea brain ( of wannabe Airline pilot ). What was that airfield Slasher went to on the 727 again ? Sorry laaaa.... we dont fly little airplanes to Oz thats why we dont know those airports.

[OldAce]

Yes Slasher, Learmonth was the place we used as a diversion airport going to Perth in the 80’s on the DC10. Perth can be bloody windy with strong crosswinds where someone demonstrated a 45kts xwind landing on the Jumbo.

I got my PR in Oz land and that will be where I be when I finish up the contract up north.

Malaysia is just turning to dogs….where it was once a beautiful country. As you can see from the write up here the kind of mentality the country is producing. It is a pity.

In general some of the Malays there can hold the trophy for the world top class for corruption and some Chinese for top class in cheating. All these including the Islamic Fundamentalist/Extremist is going to drag the country further down the gutter.

It is just leading its way to the like of Iran or Pakistan or worse Afganistan.

[OldAce]

Times are bad, revenue dropped sharply,
expenditure is rising unceasingly, competition is keener, oil prices stay high, MAS is losing more money year after year, .................these are the challenges faced by Md Noor the new CEO of MAS.

He says, "MAS must raise productivity. Present business strategy unsuitable and costs are too high." Are these the symptoms or the root of MAS problems?

The basic policies in MAS are wrong.

Managers of key departments must be qualified
and capable people. Key managers are the ones
that must ensure MAS is managed like a tight ship,slim and trim, ready to meet the challenges of the market.

They must be appointed on merits and not on quota system. Poor morale and bad work culture have eaten into the whole company like cancer because of the quota system.

Productivity is a lose terms. Raise productivity is easy to say but HOW to do it. This is the 1.33 billions ringget question.

Automation! Yes, Mechanisation! Yes. Computerisation! Yes. Method study by consultants, Yes. ......... All these
measures will raise productivity in other companies,but not in MAS.

In MAS, after spending millions of ringget on automation and computerisation, more people have to be employed to do the same jobs. Result, a reduction in productivity.
What has gone wrong?

The fundamentals are all wrong ! For example. MAS have more than 10 cabin crew
to operate a domestic flight. Why ? Because of the agreement with the Crew Union.
Because MAS has been using the same number
of crew all these years. It must be right.

Because of service to Passengers.
Result: MAS has a cabin crew population of a few thousand to operate the small fleet of aircraft. Crew salary and allowance is one of the major item in the expenditure of MAS.

Let's compare MAS with a domestic US carrier which I flew quite often with. They use 3 cabin crew for a all EY flights, or 4 cabin
crew for a flight with first class. They have more or less the same fleet size with MAS but have only 1/3 the size of cabin crew.
Their level of service standards, equal or slightly better than MAS.

If you look at the MAS international flights and the cabin crew roster, the abuse is even more alarming. Because of past agreement with the Union, crew cannot work beyond a limited number of hours. Travelling time to
and from work is counted as work hours.
After a long flight, cabin crew are entitled to a few day paid holiday abroad before operating a flight home. Yes, they receive not only wages during the "rest" overseas, they are paid allowances (more than basic salary). After every trip overseas, they are entitled to paid "standby" duties, ie another paid holiday.They stay in five stars hotels and are paid generous meal allowance while abroad.

Working life to the Cabin crew actually is a long, long rest and holiday, punctuated by short period of serving the passengers. All these abuses eat into the revenue as expenditure.

To be fair, this sorry state of affairs is not happening only in Cabin crew department alone. It is happening in every department, from baggage loaders to Engineering. Instead of allowances, ground staff are paid huge amount of "overtime", even when there is
little or no work to do.

So, to improve productivity in MAS, it is not just automation. There is a need for a paradigm change in the mind set of all employees in MAS regarding his attitude, his
performance, and his skill and ability.
Attitude: MAS owe the employees a living, providing services is not their paid duties, but is a big a favour to the passengers.

Performance: Whether the performance of a worker is up to expectation, is not important. He will be paid his salary,
plus an annual increment, and other costly perks.

Skill and ability: It is not important whether an employeehas the skills and ability for promotions. Qualification for
promotions ;union stewards, race and religion. After all, three or four persons are deployed to one job, only one needs to have the necessary skill and ability.

If the basic policies of MAS remain unchanged, and the basic fundamentals are not fixed, it is pointless to talk about productivity, service improvements and
business strategy.

If he really intend to turn MAS around, CEO Md Noor must do two things, ie review the basic policies, and force the change in fundamentals.

He needs an axe to chop away all the dead wood, before fresh dead shoots can grow.

Has he the political clout, the ability or the will to do the challenging job?

From: soc.culture.malaysia

[fisherman]

well said. sad but true.

[PILOST]

Old Ace, again you've proven that you were never with MAS nor are you verifying your info on MAS, only posting slanders on this convenient forum.I now truly believe that you are just a provocateur & conducting a 'covert ops' of tarnishing the good image of loyal MAS's employees.

MAS doesn't operate with 10 cabin crew on their domestic sectors.How do you verify this?Simple, MAS's B737-400/500 only have 6 cabin crew seats.Now where are you going to put the other 4?The F50 only has 2 cabin crew seats......where's the other 8?If there is Crew union, where is it?The crew are unionised not through their own umbrella, rather they are bunched up together with the rest of the graded staff under MASEU.If indeed MAS operates with 10 cabin crew in the domestic sectors, then I guess we must have 'phantom' cabin crew.

Comparing MAS's services with a US operator makes me laugh!We've time & time again proven that Asian Airlines cabin services are beyond excellence!

Cabin crew are not robots, they are like pilots too, human.FTL scheme for the crew are a matter between the union & the employer.At the end of the day they need rest to conduct their duties in a safe & efficient manner.As it is, MAS's cabin crew pay are among the lowest in the region, not to mention the pilots too!So don't get me started on it.Pay for standby duties?I've yet to see it!That would be good! ;)

Being paid allowance during nightstops are an industry practice, so what's the big deal?Even non aviation related companies pay their staff allowances while on business travel.

As for the overtime, again we should blame the former management on their 'penny wise pound foolish' policy.To lower staff costs, they employed staff on contract terms which are really pathetic.After a few months, rightfully these contract staff will resign in disgust.In the end, who has to carry the can?The permanent staff has to do it.As they are bogged down with their own duties & have to double up for the shortage of manpower, obviously they will be due for 'overtime' allowances.

Old Arse, it's very convenient to 'copy & paste' the said article from soc.culture.malaysia.However you have again proven that you're an outsider posing as a former worker.You have no idea how MAS operates nor of their policies.It's very sad that in your eagerness to put MAS in a bad light you've painted MAS's loyal staff as ungrateful & unproductive.The sad fact & the undeniable truth is the workers are just a pawn in a high stakes, one upmanship game conducted by our former Chairman who, assisted by his cronies & yes man, to line up his ever bulging pocket.

The loyal employees now are picking up the shattered pieces of MAS.Hopefully we'll be strong enough to bounce back with a vengeance.Not for my sake, or of my colleagues, rather for the nation itself.

To quote our former Chairman "What do you have if MAS bankrupts?I've still got my Celcom".

May he rot & go down with his ailing TRI!

Safe Flying all!

http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/cool.gif
PILOST

[Slasher]

Oldace yeh I agree with what you said about Malaysia being a nice place. Its certainley light-years ahead of Indonesia. Ive only had limited exposure to the country through mainley charters and overnights to KL, Kuching and KKinabalu. Each nightstop I had quite a good time and mix with the locals who surprisingley to me are everyday normal people with a bit of education and sophistication. And sometimes I bump into MAS tech crew over this way (TPE usualy) and have a good chat (and a few dirty jokes) over a beer or 20. And yeh I love your female cabin crew like everybody else does!

But I hope for your sake Malaysia doesnt become another boring backward islamic crap-hole like Afganistan or Iran. It doesnt "suit" you. The mentality you speak of ("kurmatola" being a prime example: ilogical, lacks any effective communication skills, self-contradictory, incapable of rational debate and clear thinking, not too well educated, cant think straight and too idealistic) is perhaps presentley a minority in terms of population numbers. The real danger lies when these fruitcakes gain political power in the FEDERAL arena. If the papers are correct, the Malaysian oposition party called PAS(?) normaly recruit deadbeats like "kurmatola" to further there political and extremist idealism. Yeh and the Commies do the same here. Itll be pure hell if these lunatics ever take over you country. You may as well pack up and grow rice back in the kampong.

Apart from corruption and cronyism your other main problem seems to be that of religion. As an aitheist I dont believe nor respect any ancient superstition (islam included), but in Nam we have our fair share of christians, islamics, buddists, taoists etc). On an oficial state level the commies declare the country as an atheist state (which suits me) but in reality everyones alowed to practice whatever belief theyve been suckered into. Its all at low-level so theres no bloodey church bells to wake you at 7am on quiet Sunday mornings, and no mosque cat-screeches at 4am. There ARE mosques and churches of course but discretley disguised as shop lots or residential houses. The point being is that religion (and its asociated extremist element) is not permitted to interfere in any way with any Company, any business, and any politics. It also keeps the lid on any potential religious violence. If islam was put away from the political and social arena, Malaysians might gain considerably from it. Maybe.

PS You sure its 10 cabin crew for domestic (B737) sectors? Or 10 crew for domestic flights operated by your WBs?

[OldAce]

I remember very well when the Pilots were only getting only 24 hours layover in LHR,The Cabin Crew were getting as much as 5 days there.

[Shintaro9]

OA, cabin crew gets 72hrs as per their agreement with the Company. You working for MAS http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/confused.gif

Anyway back to the thread..New MAS Structure...this is what I heard. The 4 EVP positions has been abolished. It'll be the MD and a few SVPs. "Bash" the airline man's name not even mentioned, looks like he's out. Finance will be runned by a CFO (an outsider). IT to be absorbed under services. "Doll MZ" is retiring, so the 4 EVP position dissappears. Dr Con moving to SVP serives I was told :) :)

Pyg moves to SVP FO... :mad: and he'll be restructuring his flt ops (squadron)I bet. Joe, you could have been the Boss, but you blew it. Do you guys think he'll promote his sidekick Snake to a VP position (although Snake himself thinks he's inline for the SVP position)?.

Heard at senior management level about 4 outsiders'll be brought in to assist the MD. But my concern is..what's to become of flt ops. Help... http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/frown.gif

[OldAce]

Shintaro9 says: Cabin Crew gets 72hrs as per their agreement with the Company.

And Pilots only get 36 hrs half of that.

It will be catastropic to aircraft operation if cabin crew gets the same rate as pilots. They might accidently spill coffee all over the passenger if they do not get enough rest time.

[NCC-1701e]

And there are 2 sets of tech crew as oppossed to only 1 set of cabin crew for that sector.

[MAStake]

Pygmy as SVP????
Old Ass, you must be laughing. Imagine the airline run like the RMAF.
Looks like exodus time!!!!!!

[OldAce]

Haleluyah! The Air Force rules the airline.
High time too. You can all pack your bags.
Now to join the airline you MUST SERVE the Air Force and Country for 7 years. HaHahaHa serve you all civilian right for screwing up the airline. Move over the MILITARY is taking over.

[MAStake]

Another KAL in the making.

[kurmitola]

And OA will be invited to prove his 20 cents's worth. But his buddy Slash will retire and grow padi in Nam cos' there are too many churches back in Ozz and the bell will wake him up too early in the morning.

[OldAce]

MAS, the national airline of Malaysia, is technically bankrupt. The situation is beyond repair, because the damage is too great. Even with massive injections of new capital it cannot be rescued. In spite of government assurances that new management will restore the operation to profitability, there is no possible means to achieve this. The present debt level, combined with continuing losses, are beyond any reasonable expectation of a return to a solvent condition. Even should the airline achieve a breakeven condition by an heroic cost reduction program, the massive debt, combined with the burden of new aircraft purchases, represents a burden that is tantamount to a bankruptcy.
The government, in an effort to put a pretty face on the situation, refuses to admit defeat, and thus a policy of supporting the airline with public funds has been accepted, though the full amount of this burden is still unknown. A recent attempt to invigorate the flagging economy with a RM3 billion injection, must be weighed against the annual loss of well over RM1 billion from MAS alone. Such is the cost of pride, that only total collapse of the economy will force Malaysia to allow the national airline to join Philippine Airways on the list of failed and discontinued Southeast Asian airlines. Malaysia is politically committed to the do-all-or-die position of an inveterate gambler, who having had a run of bad luck, is forced to wager his life to continue his destructive habit. This is no way to run a national economy.
The airline turned a profit in the years prior to privitasation, and had a respectable net tangible asset value. The story of how this happy enterprise fell on hard times in just five short years is an instructive one, and is matched by a number of other corporate histories in Malaysia. It is important because it reflects what is wrong with the corporate world of Malaysia today, going far toward explaining why the KLCI has nowhere to go but down and out. One may well ask, "Where did all the money go?"
Any enterprise intended to operate for profit must generate sufficient current income to meet routine expenses. For an airline, the major variable costs are the salaries of pilots and crew for each flight, along with the necessary fuel and landing fees. Enough passenger tickets must be sold to make the flight a profitable one.
For a non-scheduled airline, ticket sales are not such a problem, because the plane can be held on the ground until enough seats are sold to make a profit on each flight. If the airline has low debt and minimal ground costs, competitively low fares can be offered to attract passengers. Virgin Air is a good example of a successful airline which started in this modest but efficient manner.
Passengers prefer a scheduled airline because it eliminates the uncertainty of takeoff date and time. Airlines often give incentives to passengers who book early, because it aids effective planning. But for scheduled airlines there is the obligation of making the flight even though many seats are empty. Thus the percentage of seats filled, on average, is an important consideration in the evaluation of an airline.
Overall, the airline industry has had many failures and relatively few successes. With a few notable exceptions, such as Singapore Air, flying large airplanes has tended to be more a source of national pride than a profit center. For the smaller countries the losses are subsidised by the taxpayers with tourism and development as justification. This is the case in Malaysia.
Malaysia's airline has had an unfortunate stint as a semi-privitised entity, during which the private operator used it more as a concubine than a wife. A small company with a short experience in chartering helicopters to the national oil company was given the national airline as a toy, and told to tinker with the till at will. But a scheduled airline is not a charter helicopter outfit, and the books soon reflected the lack of executive skill.
The helicopter outfit has as its primary asset a chairman with a close connection to the finance minister. The finance minister controlled the contracts for the national oil company, and the relationship between the oil company and the helicopter outfit was a cozy one.
The finance minister also controlled the national airline, and the temptation to transfer this as a bonus to the chairman of the helicopter company proved overwhelming. Financing was fully fortuitous, as the finance minister also controls the public purse, including not only Petronas, the oil company, but other state-owned enterprises as well, and more importantly, the public pension and trust funds.
The helicopter chairman was duly installed as chairman of the national airline, and as such, promptly proceeded to enter into contracts with the helicopter outfit. In his capacity as airline chairman he negotiated and signed long term contracts for major services and projects. As chairman of the helicopter outfit he signed the other side of the contracts. It is the perfect case of a willing buyer and a willing seller. He saw no conflict of interest, nor did the well-paid and accommodating directors who sat quietly complicant as members of the boards of directors of both companies, nor did the minister of finance, charged with a primary duty to oversee public interest.
New (and expensive) cargo facilities were built in the Middle East and in Germany. The helicopter outfit owned the facilities and provided support services. The national airline was contracted to pay for them. The terms were apparently favorable to both. The finance minister is a quiet man, with a pleasant and disarming charm. It is difficult to imagine him as the primary behind-the-scenes conspirator in the Anwar Ibrahim affair. Yet the testimony in the two trials named this small man as the big malefactor, along with Aziz Shamsuddin and Rahim Thamby Chik. Many feared to identify him, fearful of his wealth and vendictiveness.
The sweetheart arrangement between the two companies, Naluri and MAS, soon turned sour for both. The helicopter outfit ran afoul of high expectations and low executive talent. The national airline met increasing fuel costs, an enormous debt burden caused by none other than the finance minister himself, who, by pegging the national currency at an unfavorable exchange rate for the outstanding capital loans of the airline, made it impossible for the loans to be repaid.
The airline suffered from the same lack of executive talent as the helicopter outfit, which is easy to understand, as they were the same. Each year the losses have mounted, with no sign when the bleeding will stop. In the meantime, the finance minister was forced to intervene in order to forestall a total collapse. He decided to recover the shares given to the helicopter company, but now another problem, caused by the pegging of the exchange rate, popped up. The foreign loans became impossible to repay, and the operating losses had lowered the market value of the shares of both the airline company and the helicopter outfit. The shares were no longer able to act as collateral for the loans against them. There was an enormous loss, and neither the finance minister nor the dual chairman were prepared to accept this loss personally.
Many late night coffee sessions were required before a solution was found. The public would suffer the loss. The shares would be bought back at the original price to avoid acceptance of the loss. So the decision was made to use public funds to transfer the airline shares back to the finance ministry, allowing the original loans to be repaid. This was to benefit of the lenders (one may well ask who they are), otherwise faced with accepting a large non-performing loan or foreclosing on both Naluri and MAS. This would inevitably put both into bankruptcy.
In order to avoid this disaster, public funds were used (without approval), and the public was told that the loss was "only on paper," and recovery was "just a matter of time". It was known the airline had enormous losses not yet reported, and this fact was concealed until after the share re-purchase was announced. The public was not told the true condition of the airline, nor that recovery of the MAS share price is totally unrealistic under present circumstances. On the contrary, the NTA value, after newly proposed re-financing, will be around RM1.50, as opposed to the re-purchase at RM8.0.
The political repercussions for the finance minister, as well as his party, have been grave. He has resigned under a cloud, and the books of the ministry are now under careful audit to determine the full story of the transactions carried out during his tenure. That he, like the helicopter company chairman, was unable to perceive a basic conflict of interests, when signing contracts as both buyer and seller, is seen as a serious shortcoming by those whose funds he has handled. That he has become personally perhaps the wealthiest man in the country during his government tenure has aggravated the resentment.

Harun Rashid

[Slasher]

That was a good piece Oldace and made everything a lot clearer. Christ and I thought the Nam government here were the king-pins of corruption and cronyism.

[BorneoPilot]

This - all of this is so VERY sad!!!
I believe all should work towards improving
our national airline and maybe complain less.....or am I just another
bright eyed, idealistic ciku that has been
away from Malaysia too long to realize MAS is beyond hope?

Enlighten me please...anyone?

[OldAce]

To me it looks like there is no light at the end of the tunnel for MAS.

I have a solution for MAS that will work.
But I,m not about to share it with anybody yet. Unless maybe they pay me RM20 million.

[Iso]

Why not get an experienced telco CEO to turn MAS around again. 360 degrees!

[smiling monkey]

A simple solution would be to downsize and sell off a few assets, including planes.

After that, then get rid of the cronyism that exists in the establishment.

Easier said than done, I know.

[OldAce]

What asset, what plane. ALL had been sold a long time ago. All the planes used are on an expensive lease.

[snowmanfx]

Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS) has appointed a new management team as part of the struggling airline's corporate restructuring, according to Reuters, which obtained a copy of a circular to its staff.

In the circular, MAS managing director Mohamad Nor Md Yusof said he had appointed a nine-member team he would head to implement and manage measures intended to revive the airline.

At least three former top executives have been excluded from the team, while the new faces include a former official from Australian carrier Qantas.

Among those excluded from the new management were long-serving executive vice-president Bashir Ahmad and Radzlan Akib Bakar.

"Bashir Ahmad and Rodzlan Akib will relieve their current line-responsibilities and report directly to the managing director," according to the circular.

Australian Paul Mooney, a former Qantas official, and Ong Liang Heng, a former investment banker, are among the new faces.

Mooney will be senior manager in charge of network and revenue management and Ong will be the new chief financial officer.

A company source told Reuters that another former Qantas official was also due to join the MAS management.

From the Edges Daily.com
http://www.bizedge.com.my/article.cfm?id=5563

[NCC-1701e]

Nicely written OA, i dunno about the accuracy but it was a well written post. In this i happen to agree with you, I don't see how MAS can be salvaged but then i am not an expert in business. What i do know is that the crony system does not work, and that system seems firmly entrenched in the present political and business environment here. Personally, i think we need to change this, but the majority of Malaysians don't think so. The programming by the media is very effective. One of my friends from overseas commented; 'It is amazing how often headlines in the malaysian newspapers reports a politician telling the people to do this and do that.'

[fisherman]

The rename of SVP and VP to GM and manager respectively bring MAS salary scale more inline with the corporate sectors and allow the new management rooms to appoint new VP in the future.

Personally, believe half if not more of the 40+ 'old' VPs should not be there at the first place. If history is any precedent, expect new cronies to fill these new VP positions in 2 to 3 years time.