KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 — Malaysians are far from “stupid” and are even flying high in the aviation industry, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said today in response to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s sweeping criticism for the misfortunes plaguing the country’s national carrier.
Pointing to the international fame and popularity enjoyed by another home-grown airline AirAsia under the leadership of Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Datuk Kamarudin Meranon and Azran Osman Rani, the federal opposition lawmaker hit out at the Barisan Nasional (BN) ruling coalition for failing to spot and hone local talent to the country’s advantage.
“The success of Air Asia is well-known internationally. Without a single cent in government support and subsidies, they have transformed the airline industry by offering affordable fares where ‘everyone can fly’,” the Bagan MP said in a statement.
He contrasted the budget carrier’s success built on cheap fares to that of Malaysia Airlines System Berhad (MAS), saying the national airline had recorded huge losses despite charging exorbitant fares and the “tens of billions of ringgit” offered it by the federal government.
“The secret of Air Asia success [sic] is simple and found in all excellent companies — a relentless and rigorous focus on competency, honesty and talent spotting regardless of race or religion.
“Whilst the best and brightest Malaysian and foreigners are appointed in Air Asia, the Malaysian government has adopted a failed approach of not punishing and sometimes even rewarding bad behaviour,” Lim said.
He called for the airline’s next chief executive officer-designate Christoph R Mueller to be given a free hand to clean up MAS when the German takes over the restructured carrier, expected to be by March next year.
Lim also asked that the terms and benefits of Mueller’s contract be made public to demonstrate MAS’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
Last week, MAS majority-stakeholder Khazanah Nasional Berhad announced the German who helped turn around Ireland’s national carrier Aer Lingus, has been picked to helm MAS Baru, as the revamped entity is known.
A day after the announcement, former prime minister Dr Mahathir made his controversial remark, saying “Malaysians are stupid. They don’t know how to manage aviation”.
The flag carrier marked its seventh quarterly loss in a row recently when it posted a net loss of RM575.6 million for the three months ending September 30, widening from an RM373.2 million deficit in the same period last year.
It sank deeper into the red following the mysterious loss of flight MH370 on March 8 and the July 18 shooting down over Ukraine of flight MH17.
MAS had raked in billions in profits during the 1980s but began to suffer losses a decade later, after Dr Mahathir privatised the airline.
