MAS needs new brains

LETTER | It is not easy to put MAS back on track like when it was operated as MSA together with Singapore Airlines in a joint-venture in the early 60s.

Many attempts to save MAS out the red by the government in the past had failed. And all the taxpayers' good money pumped in by the government to save the ailing airline had failed - money gone down the drain.

To the extent, the government now says "enough is enough". It is time for the government to find a workable solution to save MAS.

The way to go about is to see that the chosen one is given a 100 percent free hand to do the needful and that he or she should be daring to face the facts and get the job done without fear or favour.

MAS apparently is headed by old-timers who have the prerogative and hold the powers to get the game played their way. Like they can put you on the job and they too can bring you down. This sort of survival plan is a no-no.

The public has seen a few "new" heads of MAS leaving even before the expiry of their contracts. The point is they left without saying a word or why. The excuse was because they had something urgent that needed to be taken care or because of health reasons etc.

MAS has to be taken over rather than bought over as one whole private business entity and run on its own, as a wholly-owned private company or corporation. Thus, the government should not keep MAS as a quasi-government company and hold onto 30 percent of its shares or more. As long there is a link with the government, a complete makeover for MAS can never take place.

That means the government giving up all control and not interfering. This means the new owner has the free hand, the rights, authority, prerogative and power to do a complete reorganisation of the company including cutting down on company overheads and assets.

This is the main stumbling block to selling off MAS. As it is now, the airline is too heavy to fly out of the red. At the end of the day, the government is forced to bail-our MAS - again.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.