Dr Don: MAS-AIRASIA share swap is a “NATIONAL TRAGEDY!”

Dr. Mohamadon Abdullah a.k.a. Dr Don, one of the pioneers of MAS wrote:

Malaysia Airlines grew from a small Domestic & Regional Carrier to a major player in Airline Premier League. Engineering developed from a Line Maintenance Facility to become a major Aircraft Overhaul Facility in the region (initially supported by expatriate staff but ultimately replaced by Malaysians, through a structured Nationalization programme). Flight Catering operated from a small flight kitchen and became a preferred Catering Supplier. Flight Operations has been recognized as one the best in the world and our Pilots are in great demand, due to a rigid technical training and human factors programmes. There are many more areas that we can really be proud of. Management Succession Plan was emplaced. All these were destroyed in 1994 as a result of the so called “restructuring” and the “virtual airline” concept. I recall 254 years of engineering “experience” were cast aside by just a stroke of a pen. Malaysia Airlines Academy was planned to be a Centre of excellence but now has become “Manipal University”.

Today, MAS has engaged many foreign expertises either through direct recruit or through “Consulting” services (which result in $$$$$ outflow).  Credit and recognition must be given to the pioneer Leaders who took the airline from operating BN2s, F27 and B737-200 to the modern fleet of B747s, B737s, B777s, DC-10s and Airbus series.

Now a foreigner who has no inkling of why MAS was established and has developed (and never gone through the pains of the early years) has been appointed an Advisor. Imagine, a foreign Company is providing Catering Services at Malaysia’s major Aviation Hub.What a JOKE after 55 Years of Independence! Where is that Malaysian Pride? It is indeed a NATIONAL TRAGEDY.

The emphasis was yours truly.

Yours truly has been alerted of the above in HERE, malaysiaairlinesfamilies. 

Mr Martin Barrow is a classic example of MAS management “kowtowing” to the Mat Salleh. The white man mentality!. Mr Barrow was in MAS for donkey years. Was he of any help?  By the way Mr Barrow resigned around the time when the secret MAS-AirAsia share swap was inked by Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, MD of Khzanah. Rumours have it that he and his ex-business partner in BinaFikir Sdn Bhd and crony, En Mohammed Rashdan Yusof a.k.a Danny, were the architects of the secret MAS-AirAsia share swap.  Yours truly believes that they are still many very talented people within MAS but they are never being appreciated by people like Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar. Hence, many outsiders were recruited to head departments in MAS and they have been rewarded with high pay and perks. Those who have been loyal and worked their guts out for MAS have been ignored or “dianaktirikan” by the management.

Well, AJ was in great pain to justify the reappointment of Mr Barrow as MAS’s advisor. Below is the AJ’s e-mail dated 19-01-2012:

CIRCULAR FROM GROUP CEO

To        : All Staff System-wide

Date     : 19 January 2012

Ref       : GCEO/CIR 006/12 

Dear colleagues

Martin Barrow – Advisor to Group CEO

Martin Barrow was an independent non-executive director of Malaysia Airlines for almost 10 years up to August 2011. During that time, he was instrumental in the formalisation of the Board Safety & Security Committee and  worked with the Operations team to set up the Corporate Safety Oversight Department.

I am pleased to inform you that Martin and I have agreed that he will continue to be associated with Malaysia Airlines as Advisor  to Group CEO reporting to me.

 He will sit on the Board Safety & Security Committee as an ex-officio member under the chairmanship of Tan Sri Krishnan Tan who is also our board member.

 In addition, Martin will advise us on global developments on a wide range of commercial issues, continuing his active links across the airline industry and the regulators, and will support our marketing and sales efforts worldwide. You can all contact him direct at [email protected] when you need advice or help with any initiatives.

 Please continue to treat Martin as a member of the ‘Malaysia Airlines family’ providing him with access and to any information for him to perform his functions. He will of course be treating all information as confidential within the Group.

 Thank you.

 Ahmad Jauhari Yahya