Lay-Offs

[MAStake]

Anybody out there with information on the Voluntary Separation Scheme or plans for lay-off in MAS?
Raya is over and so is X'mas. Now that 2002 is here are we going to get the bad news?

[fisherman]

I heard;
the md engaged a consultant to prepare a paper on vss but the vss proposal was turned down by the supreme executive chairman.

[Usman]

by DAP National Chairman Lim Kit Siang in Penang on Tuesday, 25th
December 2001:

The MAS manpower rationalisation exercise to retrench 3,000 - 4,000
workers should be made public as this goes against the public
undertaking of "no retrenchment" during the RM1.8 billion government
buy-back bailout of MAS last year
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It has been reported that Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has completed a
study on a manpower rationalisation exercise to help it stay
competitive, which would involve the elimination of between 3,000 and
4,000 jobs from its current payroll of over 21,000 for the national
airline to remain operationally viable and that the report will be
submitted to the Government, the controlling shareholder, for approval
and implementation early next year. (Business Times)

DAP calls on the government to make public the MAS manpower
rationalisation exercise to retrench 3,000 to 4,000 workers as this
goes against its public undertaking of "no retrenchment" during the
RM1.8 billion government buy-back bailout of MAS last year.

The RM1.8 billion government buy-back of 29 per cent MAS stake to
bailout Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli and Naluri at the exorbitant price of
RM8 per share representing a premium of RM4.32 or 117 per cent over
the closing market price at RM3.68 per share when the deal was signed
on 20th December 2000 becomes even more outrageous and indefensible
when the naked and blatant result is the bailout of one person and
one company at the expense of thousands of loyal MAS employees and the
Malaysian taxpayers.

The then Finance Minister, Tun Daim Zainuddin, gave a most
irresponsible reply in Parliament in March when he claimed that RM8
per share was a "good buy" for the government to re-acquire 29 per
cent of MAS stake, when the highest price ever reached by MAS this
year (even before the September 11 terrorist attacks) was only RM4 per
share.

Up to now, Daim’s failure to address two important issues about the
government MAS buy-back bailout stood as a terrible indictment on his
tenure as Finance Minister, viz:

· Why no independent professional valuation was ever done when the
government agreed to pay Tajudin's Naluri Bhd for the MAS stake at RM8
per share when its closing market price when the deal was signed on
20th December 2000 was only RM3.68 per share. Tajudin had
subsequently admitted in a circular dated Jan 22, 2001 to minority
shareholders of Naluri Bhd, in which he owns 47 per cent: "No
independent valuation was carried out for the said sale
consideration".

· Why rules for the bail-out of companies established by the National
Economic Action Council in the "National Economic Recovery Plan" was
violated and Tajudin was not only spared from having to "take his
appropriate hair-cuts" but was given a bonanza at taxpayers' expense
to reward for his mismanagement of MAS by being given 117% premium
for the MAS shares over the market price, transforming it into a
personal rescue for Tajudin instead of a public rescue for MAS.

Be that as it may, now that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr.
Mahathir Mohamad has personally taken over as the Finance Minister,
and as he was the one who gave the public undertaking that there would
be no retrenchment of workers by MAS after the government buy-back of
the controlling stake in the national airline, the Malaysian public as
the ultimate owners of MAS are entitled to a full accounting as to how
the government proposes to restore the viability and competitiveness
of the national airline - including the proposed retrenchment of 3,000
to 4,000 MAS workers in violation of his earlier "no retrenchment"
pledge.

Lim Kit Sian

[Bob Hawke]

Perhaps if they stopped milking the cash cow, then it would return to what it should be. Or is that perhaps a culturally insignificant statement to make. You don't need an MBA to work that out.

[Kaptin M]

Did ANYONE ever doubt that TR (and Dr M) would NOT do this? It was as obvious as the donger on a dog that MAS was being gutted before being offloaded back to the ONLY "buyer" who would be left holding the can - the Malaysian taxpaying public..the Government.

Malaysia's version of Indonesia's President Suharto!

Another overt and flagrant rip-off of public money was that white elephant known as KLIA. There have been more airlines pulling out of there since it opened, than in the ENTIRE history of Subang - again Malaysia's loss because of ONE MAN'S personal avarice!

[zxamx]

I thought most Malaysians loved to be ripped off by them at anytime at all ??? Otherwise, the present government won't be in power today........... <img src="confused.gif" border="0"> <img src="confused.gif" border="0"> <img src="confused.gif" border="0">

[OldAce999]

Hahaahaaaaahaa I told you so........
They are being shot down in the back by their own kind in flames. So pathetic and what a shame.

[zxamx]

Guess what??? MAS loves expats more than locals, especially the cockpit crews !!! Don't be surprised if you see local staffs will pack their bags first instead of expats. Unbelieveable ???? Believe it ........

<img src="rolleyes.gif" border="0"> <img src="rolleyes.gif" border="0"> <img src="rolleyes.gif" border="0">

[OldAce999]

Hushkitt I believe you.

Remember about the $50,000 they pay for each expat pilot that I told you about. The local Employment Agency under 001 will only pay $5000 to the expats from Iraq and the rest of the monies will be pocketed by their gang. How else can you think that 001 survive that long in MAS management.

Well the other factors are that these middle-eastern expat can 'kowtow' better and pray more time to Allah than the local pilots.

[Skyline]

It has been passed in Parliament that as long as the govenment has any stake or the golden share in MAS, there would be no VSS, termination or any loss of jobs. It's a whole political thingee....so those of you in MAS, breath a sigh of relief. However promotion would be delayed. Good day all

[Usman]

Skyline your argument is only good until the next election. Come 2004 the scene will be different if BN do not have 2/3 majority. In the mean time MAS continues to burn 3-4 million ringgit per day.