YOURSAY | Give Loke a chance to fix airline woes

YOURSAY | ’Not defending Loke but let's be reasonable and fair with the criticisms’.

COMMENT | Loke should resign if he can't handle airline refunds

Travis Bickle: I am not defending Transport Minister Anthony Loke, but I think the writer, former editor P Gunasegaram is not being reasonable.

A minister cannot just order any private company to issue refunds to customers. Imagine the precedent that would set. There are terms and conditions/contracts between AirAsia and its passengers.

Malaysia Aviation Commission (Mavcom) is indeed the authority set up specifically to handle such complaints. That is a fact that Loke is pointing out. So why be angry? If my house is robbed, can I complain to the home minister? If the home minister says I should go to the police instead, should I be angry at the minister?

Asking Batik Air to apologise, that's very different from asking them to issue refunds because refunds are governed by the terms and conditions. Why compare apples to oranges and be angry they are different?

As for Loke giving a speech at an AirAsia event, come on, many ministers do that at events of private companies. It's nothing unusual, and it's not fair to single out Loke. After all, part of any minister's role is to engage with the industry players. This is normal in any country.

Unless the writer has tangible proof that Loke is in cahoots with AirAsia, making such insinuation is irresponsible and borders on slander. AirAsia refund issue is not new, and a lot of it arose during Wee's time but never heard this writer ask former transport minister Wee Ka Siong to resign. Not defending Loke but let's be reasonable and fair with the criticisms.

Many commenters lambasting Loke are also unaware that AirAsia is undergoing debt restructuring and the refund case is now under Court Order with the reimbursement arrangement being supervised by the High Court. The process is underway.

BOBBYO: Asking a minister, who had been in his position just over a month to resign is a bit harsh. This huge amount of refunds or debts by AirAsia had accumulated since the Covid-19 crisis erupted in this nation.

For over three years the previous transport minister did not lift a finger to solve the problem. Even after all the whining and crying by those involved, the problem was still not solved. We expect a minister who has just resumed this post to settle it or not resign.

Are we not going too far with such an action? Well by now Loke would already have been fully informed about the situation. He is not going to sit back and not respond to this problem. There will be talks held to find a solution. So let us give him space to come up with a solution.

Maybe pressure AirAsia to find a solution as fast as possible now that business is picking up again. In the meantime, the problem at hand was the price of travelling by air from Kuala Lumpur to Sabah and Sarawak. It was expensive and due to the holidays fast approaching, Loke had to find a solution to it.

So we have to give him credit for helping to approach AirAsia for more favourable prices during this season. At least this immediate problem of pricing had been solved. Well in three years, the lingering problem of accumulated debts will find a solution. Give him time and not just demand he resigns for a problem that he did not create.

Man on the Silver Mountain: Asking a minister to resign is something veteran DAP leaders like Lim Kit Siang and DAP chairperson Lim Guan Eng often do. So when someone asks Loke, who is DAP secretary-general to resign, it is like DAP getting a taste of its own medicine.

I never condone such rhetoric because, in 100 percent of the cases in which the minister was called to resign, they never do. So, why bother to play with the useless phrase?

Having said that, if the present transport minister can resolve this issue, and prompt refund of unused flights, it would be a great thing. This side of airline management needs to be improved for the sake of paying customers.

For far too long the complaints have existed, they are like recurring nightmares to those who used the airlines. So, what is the problem that a transport minister cannot solve? Does he not have the power to tell them to pay back the customers?

MarioT: Look at the broader picture of what the AirAsia group contributes to air travel. A thriving airline like most businesses was suddenly plunged into debt during the shutdown and almost nil passenger movement during the pandemic. For it to still survive and carry on with business, it is to be commended.

Though it has its flaws, it is still a national pride and must be supported and given room to recover. Applying too much pressure will only press it further down and eventually make it no longer viable to operate. When it happens, then flying can become very expensive and beyond the reach of most people once again.

It is an economy of scales. AirAsia's contribution to low-cost air travel had enabled many people to travel on a shoestring budget. Help it to revive, and then I am sure it will be in a position to repay its debts and give refunds to those affected and not willing to wait. I and sure Anthony Loke knows how to handle this situation diplomatically.

MatTelur: While I deeply respect Loke (he's one of the few politicians who can do actual work and deliver), this was a major faux pas. He should not have shown up for AirAsia the way he did - plain and simple.

It smacks of favouritism (especially when you just criticised another airline). If he or the transport ministry was hoping to score points for bringing Chinese New Year airfares down, this has only backfired. As transport minister, he needs to be fair to all parties. Optics is everything. This only distracts from his good work and gives his opponents ammunition to go after him.

Magnanimous46: This seems a straightforward matter. Pay what you owe or get sued. So what is so special about defaulters AirAsia that absolves them from paying their debts? Is it proper for Loke to join in the fun along with the debtors let alone play mother hen? Why is he pointing at Mavcom as if it is an entity outside this ministry? And why has Mavcom become the toothless scapegoat it is?

Loke must stop playing rope-a-dope and stand up for the underdogs rather than the big boys, however tempting. If he could get Batik Air to compensate their stranded passengers in a jiffy, why not AirAsia which has more serious issues of refunds running into millions or billions in tickets sold for its cancelled flights?

If Loke is not coming forward the other alternative is for the passengers to take the debtor to court if there is a binding contract.

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