Mergers may save MAS

Former Malaysia Airlines chairman Tan Sri Dr. Mohamed Munir Abdul Majid describes the desire to hold on to control as the biggest stumbling block in previous attempts to save the airline.

Instead, it should not discount the possibility of having to merge with other international airlines to move forward.

“The moment you entertain the thought of losing control, it will become a problem,” he said during the dialogue session at the National Economic Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

Munir who attended the dialogue in his capacity as Bank Muamalat chairman said there were three potential airlines that were suitable partners for MAS; but declined to disclose them.

Munir said the short-lived share swap between MAS and AirAsia which was subsequently unwound after a mere eight months was not done correctly.

He added ideally, a holding company should have been created with the appointment of separate directors.

Munir said this after responding to questions on the government's action for having forked out millions to save the national airline.

Khazanah Nasional, the main shareholder of the airline called off the share swap exercise on May 2, 2012 after assessing that the complicated cross-holding of shares had become a distraction to management's efforts to turn around MAS.