WAU! “Open Tender is no Push Fully in this country”

Updates @ 4:30 pm on 28-3-2012: Tonight the Ministry of Finance (MOF) will be replying to the issues raised on the MAS-AirAsia share swap and CCF in yours truly’s speech “Pengkhianat dan Pengkhianat Negara” in HERE & HERE. Parliamentary session will be on until MOF finishes its reply. It could be as late as 11:30 pm! The MOF’s replies on the MAS-AirAsia share swap and CCF will be posted as soon as possible.

In the interim please read an interesting piece in THE MOLE, HERE & HERE.

At 1:30 pm on 26-3-2012 MAS management came to Parliament to brief MPs. MAS Management team was represented by En Ahmad Jauhari Yahya (AJ), Tan Sri Md Nor Yusof (Md Nor) and Tun Abdullah Hj Ahmad Badawi, as MAS Advisor. Another person from MAS, whom yours truly is not familiar with.  It could be En Rozman Omar. Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar (Amok) represented Khazanah  Nasional Bhd (khazanah). Yours truly was told that Amok’s crony Rashdan was there but could not be seen. The briefing was chaired by YB Dato’ Seri Hj Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, Minister of Finance II. YB Datuk Kong Chong Ha, the Minister of Transport, was also present.

 MAS Financial Results 2011: CCF& Share Swap did not result in 2011 Losses of RM2.52 – Due to legacy issues, operational challenges & provisions for impairment. Provision made in Q 11 totalling RM1.09 billion for:

• Redelivery of aircraft RM602 million

• Impairment of freighters RM314 million

• Stock obsolescence RM179 million

Route Rationalisation:

Connectivity Maintained to Penisular Malaysia -Sabah -Sarawak

Suspension of MAS international routes does not benefit AirAsia (AA).

Examples: 

• MAS suspended Dubai, Dammam, Karaci, Cape Town, Johanesburg, Buenos Aires & Rome.  AA still does not fly to these destinations.

• MAS suspended KK hub – Osaka, Haneda (Tokyo), Seoul, Perth.  AA still does not fly to these destinations.

• AA suspended Paris, London, Mumbai, New Delhi.  Sole MAS carrier flying there.
  

MAS for no apparent reason suspended its Bandung and Surabaya, Indonesia, routes.  AA flies there! Just to name one example. So AJ: What have you got to say about this?

Recovery Plan: To win Back customers

• Branded Customer Experience

• Increase corporate sales & front-end sales

How? By Amok’s crony, Rashdan, Deputy Group CEO, flagrant breach of MAS policy on “NO BABY IN FIRST CLASS”.  Abusing his power as Deputy Group CEO highhandedly upgraded his baby and nanny to First Class cabin. What disciplinary actions taken by MAS on  this matter? Answer is an obvious “NO”.  Please read HERE.    

AJ was, as usual, bragging about their stale “Business Plan”.  Under this, “Recovery Plan” consisting of: “Smaller yet profitable network. Win back customers. Relentless cost focus. Keep it simple. Bridge the funding gap.  Then “Games Changers” Launch new regional premium airline. Alliance & Partnership. Collaboration with AirAsia & AirAsia X. Ancillary business spin-off.”

Of course, AJ can’t wait to stress on the joint procurement with AirAsia for services, food and others. Most probably that will include buying of aircraft too. After all there are 200 units of Airbus up for “grabbed”! This is one of the best features of “Comprehensive Collaboration Framework” (CCF).

All the big words that were only used by consultant! They were so difficult to understand. The most easiest and obvious of all was the stressing of “Collaboration with AirAsia & AirAsia X”!  That we all knew from day one of the secret share swap!

AJ’s favourite was to repeat the heavy losses of RM2.5 billion, which was un-audited and includes fuel cost, obsolete spare parts and etc. How could these items be considered as part of the losses? Read HERE.

AJ also spoke about “People Issue” i.e. over staffing and low productivity. Options: “Normal employee attrition. Transfer to new growth Strategic Business Units. Secondment and/or other growth airlines.”

AJ, oblivious to the facts MAS staff, in particular the crews, have received many awards for many years like “World Best Cabin Crew” award and etc.  Why blame the low ranking staff!

MAS organization is just TOP too heavy. Can you imagine if the MAS aircraft is TOP heavy? It will nose dive!  AJ, please look around near your office, they are too many “Panamera Dead Woods” lurking around that ought to be sacked. But parasites are there to be kept so that they can be “YES, I AM, SIR, YOUR OBEDIENT SERVANTS”!  It is for this reason that many good people in the top management have left MAS leaving a Department filled with Panamera Dead Woods.

Of course, AJ may have been advised by the Mat Salleh consultant, PlaneConsult, and others that to make a point that MAS Unions are with the MAS management.

As expected AJ proudly declared that on 2-3-2012 MASEU and Airline Workers Union Sarawak (AWUS), Air Transport Workers Union Sabah (ATWUS) have signed the Collective Agreement (CA).

Despite Company’s loss position, Unions will receive salary increment from April 2011 onwards.  Continuous engagement on-going with other unions & associations to conclude other CA.

MOVE TO KLIA:

• To improve business efficiency & employee productivity

• Enable Malaysia Airlines to be more agile & Responsive to customer needs.
  

The salient items agreed in the CA: “5% adjustment effective September 2011. Increase maximum salary range by 5%. Increase retirement age to 60 years. Implement productivity initiatives. AGREE TO TRANSFER CREW TO THE SHORT HAUL AIRLINE”. It must be MAS SDN BHD that was referred to by Amok’s crony as “My Airlines”. 

How to operate when it has not obtained the Air Operation Certificate (AOC)? Perhaps this is a case of presenting verbiage to the MPs.

Perhaps some of you might want to comment how MASEUS union official signed this CA? 

The MP’s reactions:

 YB Hajah Nancy binti Hj Shukri, MP for Batang Sadon, was the first to object the secret MAS – AirAsia share swap.  She said that the said share swap was to be of benefit to AirAsia and not MAS. She has received too many public complaints about the share swap and CCF. 

Then came YB Datuk Bung Mokhtar, MP for Kinabatangan, also spoke strongly against the said secret share swap. He could only see the invasion of AirAsia people into MAS like En Rozman Omar and En Azhari Dhalan. He also called for the Government to immediately stop the said share swap before it is too late. He was also critical of Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.   

YB Datuk Azmi Khaled, MP for Padang Besar and also Chairman of PAC, YB Datuk Wira Ahmad for Jasin and YB Dato Abdul Rahman Dhalan, MP for Kota Belud and also a member of PAC joined in to demand to know why Collaboration had to be done via share swap?

Yours truly also spoke at length about the problems in MAS. It all started from the BinaFikir Sdn Bhd’s under the project “Widespread Assets Un-bundling” (WAU), which was also about assets stripping. Under WAU, MAS Catering Sdn Bhd was disposed to Gubahan Saujana Sdn Bhd and MAS Komplek in Sepang without “Open Tender”.

Eight years after WAU, MAS was back to square one. As the MD of Khazanah, Amok should take full responsibility of the problems in MAS. Yes, Amok did put up his hand and said he took full responsibility for the secret share swap and CCF! Yours truly respect him for that.  

On the question of no “Open Tender” for the said disposal of MAS Catering Sdn Bhd and MAS Komplek, Amok was quick to defend by stating “OPEN TENDER IS NO PUSH FULLY” in this country. Yours truly is learning everyday of new slogan! It is normal to go by “direct nego”! This statement speaks volume of Khazanah deals. Presumably the same modus operandi applied to the secret share swap and CCF too! Upon hearing this statement, the MPs were very upset and registered their disapprovals!

When asked about MAS uplifted AirAsia X Sdn Bhd passengers with no fare, AJ was quick to answer that AirAisa X Sdn Bhd has paid a deposit of RM20 million to MAS. MAS gained business because MAS is charging full fare for uplifting the passengers. Do you believe that MAS is charging full fare?  When AJ was informed that it is the standing policy for MAS that it will ask for a bank guarantee to cover fare for such passengers. It was “silence is golden” for AJ after that. That is AJ for you!

Yours truly also asked AJ, how much was the designing fees paid by MAS for the new logo and livery of MAS with pale blue? Of course, he didn’t answer. Rumours have it that it costs RM8 million. Hope this is not true. If it is true then MAS is definitely in the pink of health!

All MPs present were upset with the said share swap and CCF. They demanded for the reversal. MAS staffs and Malaysians will be pleased to note that no MPs came up in support let alone defend the said share swap!  The situation in the Briefing Room would have been more explosive if the former PM Tun Abdullah Hj Ahmad Badawi was not present. However those MPs that have spoken just now spoke with a bit of constrain but they did not mince their words though! The question and answers session lasted for slightly more than half hour. 

MAS staff, the MPs have spoken out loud for MAS and all Malaysians. It is now time for you to ensure that your own respective union stands up for you, MAS and the nation.  

Quite frankly, AJ’s briefing today was just a “REPLAY OF AN OLD BROKEN RECORD”!

P/s Yours truly took a picture of the panel but forgot to insert the memory card. Will look for a nice picture for the picture story.