Saving MAS means saving 14,000 jobs, say MPs

They said this was only possible through the "sheer political will" at the highest level of the Najib administration to give a new lease of life to MAS, which otherwise would almost certainly close down due to a looming bankruptcy brought about by massive financial losses.

"There is no other offer or assistance either financially to pump into MAS or to buy over MAS. Only Khazanah’s offer is on the table right now. Any other company would have closed shop and we need to take cognisance of the fact that the government’s intervention via Khazanah Nasional Bhd has allowed 14,000 people to keep their jobs,” said Datuk Ahmad Fauzi Zahari, the MP for Setiawangsa.

“And the remaining 6,000 or 30 per cent of MAS’ work force are also being taken care of as Khazanah would invest in their ‘re-skilling’ and later to be given the opportunity to work in Khazanah’s umbrella of companies,” he told Bernama.

Khazanah, the government's strategic investment arm, and MAS have partnered with Scicom (MSC) Bhd and Sutherland Global Services to train MAS staff to be laid off in the massive restructuring while those who opt not to be re-skilled will be compensated.

Ahmad Fauzi warned that as MAS had undergone three restructurings in the past 10 years, the five-year RM6 billion comprehensive plan unveiled on Aug 29 by Khazanah to return MAS to profitability and sustainability should be the final one. "It is not fair to the government as well as to the rakyat to continuously assist MAS, and failure is no longer an option. Once and for all, deal with MAS' problems head-on, after that let's move forward and be a profitable entity.

"And what is most important once MAS recovers, it must be market-driven and operate as a commercial entity where decisions must be made based on business viability and not on sentiments as it had done in the past," he said.

His strong views were echoed by fellow MP Anuar Manap who said that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's intervention had allowed the majority of the staff to retain their livelihoods while some would be transferred to companies within Khazanah upon reskilling.

"This 12-point plan which involves huge job cuts is a very painful decision but is a clear signal that the political will is at its highest. What is important to note here is that this overhaul plan takes the bankruptcy route out of the equation, thus enabling not only 14,000 people to retain their jobs but be part of the team to build the new MAS by 2020," said Anuar, the MP for Sekijang.

Anuar pointed out that the airline industry itself had undergone major changes in the past decade while the onslaught of low-cost carriers like AirAsia and the recent emergence of Malindo Air had added pressure on MAS as it clawed its way back to health.

“MAS can look at other airlines’ experience, such as Japan Airlines and Garuda to speed up its overhaul. And some airlines have bounced back and made a turnaround from their misfortunes. Moving forward, it is certainly not an easy task, there will have to be a lot of hard work, commitment and tolerance," he said.

Anuar likened MAS to an intensive care unit (ICU) patient trying to bounce back to health and where taking the bitter medicine alone is just not enough without the hands, legs and other body parts undergoing changes in order to walk again on their own.

“The same goes with MAS, while it swallows the various antidotes prescribed, its related networks also need to transform. Importantly, all these parts need to work as one, as when one fails the entire system will collapse, and so will MAS’ recovery.”

As Ahmad Fauzi put it: "The restructuring this time is much more comprehensive and extensive than in the last, and it is absolutely necessary for everybody to bite the bullet. It is a bitter one but it has to be done."

And he again warned: "If it happens again next time, the government shouldn't step in to save MAS."

Meanwhile, the MAS overhaul has received a timely boost with AirAsia announcing that it is willing to take in some of the MAS employees to be laid off.

“AirAsia X and AirAsia are growing, of course we will do our best to absorb as many as possible and we have been (absorbing MAS staff) anyway," the low-cost airline's Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said on Wednesday.

“We have grown from 200 employees to 15,000 and a lot of them came from MAS. The transition of employees from MAS joining the AirAsia group is healthy due to differing preferences of airline employees, some of whom might want to work with low-cost carriers rather than premium airlines. About 50 per cent of AirAsia’s employees were formerly with MAS," he said.