The Federal Government’s investment arm, Khazanah Nasional Bhd, will be coming up with a plan to restructure Malaysia Airlines (MAS) within a year, said its managind director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar today.
Azman said all options were on the table at the moment in considering how to best get MAS, long suffering from consistent quartlerly losses, reflecting the seriousness of the current situation and the importance of the national carrier to Malaysia.
“At this moment, we are not prepared to say which option yet. But suffice to say, a lot of work has been done,” he said.
He stressed that a sustained turnaround for MAS would need to include a strong improvement in its internal work culture and discipline, the level of external support it receives, as well as leadership and management.
“All three areas obviously need to be consolidated. Where the question of leadership and management is concerned, this area too we will seek to improve over time,” said Azman.
He also said there is a possibility of the national carrier downsizing its flights in the near-term until a restructuring plan is formulated, given that MAS has a reasonable leeway in making choices over its network plan.
“Last year, despite losses, MAS’ load factor breached 81 pct due to the One World alliance, which gave more options in terms of connectivity,” he added.
The disappearance of Flight MH370 exacerbated MAS’s financial troubles, but the airline has been mired in money woes for years. Even before MH370 went missing, MAS had already lost RM4.25 billion in the three years previous, and the company’s stock has been trading at its lowest prices since 2001.
The airline’s consistent troubles have led to speculation that the Federal Government might need to step in once again to save the struggling airline, or that MAS might need to be broken up and sold off.
Most recently, the Malaysia Airlines System Employees Union (Maseu) made an open plea to the Federal Government to save MAS from itself, and to remove the airline’s top management team.
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