Rumours have been gong around since early July that MAS is going to be restructured. [Read The Star here].
Stockbrokers have been quietly recommending a BUY on MAS to take advantage of the plunge in shares arising from the alleged shooting of MAS MH 17. The price is too low vis-a-vis it's asset value and MAS has a better asset backing than lean mean Air Asia.
The rumour that it will go private has reached the ears of Wall Street Journal. Supposedly another turnaround plan will be proposed after Raya. Yes, everything will be after Raya.
Most likely, Khazanah Nasional will offer a General Offer and take charge privately like it did to hide the true financial status of UEM. With the same hands that wrecked it in the first place at the helm of Khazanah, serious doubt they can pull off another "turnaround".
That is unless Tun Dr Mahathir is willing to be there as Adviser to guide the National Pride and most valued brand name to Malaysia back to past glory. [Read back our posting Dollars and Sense of Flagbearer]
There will be a lot of hardwork needed and the management, particularly middle management need to be kicked in the right spot out or remain in.
The staff will need to be remotivated or revived their morale from a recent witch hunting done from a certain RM150,000 per month salary Head of Human Resource. The former human resource Manager of Danone biscuit factory does not understand her job and could only think of a chicken dance to release staff of work stress. [Read Woo Chee Keong here]
All one need is to think of MAS from the perspective of national interest and the path forward can be clearly seen.
MAS has the three major components; Cargo, and Passenger Operation - International, and Domestic.
Cargo is profitable and must continue to be profitable. The role that MAS played to bring tourist and businessman to this country has lead to increase trade between Malaysia and other countries. That has translated to benefit MAS through MasKargo.
The problem with MAS lies in the passengers airline which covers international and domestic. Someone was saying MCA wanted an airline for Chinese and Firefly was established, thus for the controversial Mandarin proficiency requirement for flight attendents.
It was not necessary but since we have it, might as well expand Firefly to takeover the domestic route and give Air Asia (AK) a run for their money. It must be profitably driven.
Change that name, it is cool but does not add value. Call it Malaysian Airline or plain Malaysia.
MAS will focus on international and carry the name of Malaysia. It must resort to its previous role as National Carrier and flag bearer.
AK cannot be considered as National Carrier for the same reason Garuda is not an Indonesian Carrier or flag bearer. For one it has no Malaysia on its name and thus does not give brand value to Malaysia but to Asia. AK is listed in other countries in the region and is also associated with other country brand.
As an only for profit organisation, it has refused national and social obligations. The fine example is AK ending the Rural Air Service (RAS) because it is not sufficiently profitable.
MAS could be linked to be part of government tourism, trade or transportation role. For instance, why do one need TDC offices all over the world. That can be combined under one roof with MAS.
In fact, MAS office and presence at Airports all around the world are a better and more cost affective advertising to country than a big TDC downtown office or large expensive billboard.
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| From people to people to trade |
On trade, MAS should re-establish presence in direct routes to Kuala Lumur with cities like Buenos Aires, New York, and many other countries in Europe and North American to enable people to people relation.
Look at what Emirates is doing to promote Dubai. If it is a money drainer, then keep it to few flights a week but presence all over the world we must.
Many countries like Iran that faced economic sanction to see the need to have a national carrier to enable Iranian and foreigners to come to Iran.
Air Asia will stop when profit is not there any more. But, Malaysia must remain connected to the world. Israel is willing to pay for extra for security for El Al to fly all over the world despite many years of boycott.
Can MAS afford to do so?
With some creative thinking, MAS and Malaysian government can do it.
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| Sold by Butcher from Shell |
For bringing tourists, MAS should have benefited from the tourism related investment in hotel, resort, etc. but the Butcher from Shell slashed it without a ponder. He even wastefully over paid a Singaporean Malay lady executive merely to do asset sales.
They say MAS is bleeding by the day. Tourism has a promotion budget. Lets not waste that fund as political fund to create wasteful unnecessary event to please Minister's cronies. Why not rechannel that budget to MAS to enable them to play the role of tourism promotion?
If it is going private, MAS does not have to answer and report to Bursa every quarter. It can go on a long term thought though turnaround plan. No need to give a damn of opposition politicians. They are shallow in their thinking of nation building.
MAS could be used to invest in tourism.
As a corporation, they would be more effective and synergistic to be involved in tourism than Tourism Ministry's PAMPENA. If MAS is involved in Tourism, most of tourist agencies cannot squeezed MAS any more cause they can compete at their doorstep.
If only MAS management had some thoughts to buy the company providing ticketing system, Abacus which they used to subscribe to, that would have put their hands direct on a valuable database of air travellers around the world.
The important thing to do is to bring back the old sense of family and pride back to the staff. Managers of MAS must stop behaving like school headmaster going around with a cane to find fault and scold. They need to be more a listeners than the tendency to muscle flexing.
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| Nation builder |
Most important in getting this plan, it need someone who feels strongly about national pride and bringing dignity to Malaysia. It has to be someone so synonymous with nation building
His presence is not to sleep and enjoy the lavish salary and office paid by MAS for his retirement but to motivate, inspire and bring back a sense of pride for serving the nation into the psyche of management - top, middle and lower, staff and down to menial workers.
That is only one person and his presence will attract and harness the right brains to help strategically draw up a proper turnaround plan and not the one level thinking turnaround plans that have been brought in.
He has committed himself for Proton to bring in RM1 billion of R&D funding, thus he can do a national pride revival for MAS too. After all, Tun Dr Mahathir does not need to bother of Petronas anymore. It is an MNC taking it's own path. His heart is no more there with the attitude of Tan Sri Shamsul Azhar.
The way we see. It is him and only him that can inspire MAS back to its former great when it roam the world in 100 countries.
With the way the Wall Street worshipping people in Khazanah thinks, there is no way MAS will ever turnaround. Malaysia Airport under Khazanah could have raised the profile for MAS and Malaysia but they fail to do so.
Azman Mokhtar has openly said Khazanah will not invest anymore in MAS. So it means he cannot appreciate the need to reinvest to upgrade fleet to stay competitive. Thus he could be thinking of cashing out - liquidating or a selling the parts of MAS.
Nazir must be thinking of saving CIMB's loan in Air Asia and that was the reason for the manouvre for Air Asia to "takeover" MAS and do a chop shop operation the last time around. MAS Kargo is something Tony F would want to lay his hands on.
The problem MAS could not turnaround is also because those people on the Baord of Directors of MAS and Khazanah has no creativity to do turnaround and create opportunity. They are too predictably text book and their ideas does not bring about awe.
Among them are the very people that plundered and failed in carrying out their task for MAS. They are never concerned with MAS. They do not know it's history and thought MAS started as Malaysian Airlines System.
As for sleepy, why was he as Adviser not seen visiting the aggrieved families of the crew victims of MH 370 and MH 17? Only Tun Dr Mahathiir took the effort and showed concern.