Sunday, August 07, 2011

MAS and Air Asia

Can Tony Fernandes really do magic? Two years ago at the F1 circuit in Singapore, when Proton hadn't even thought of staking a claim on Lotus, I sat down for a chicken rice with Tony to talk about his Formula One foray using the Lotus brand-name and the backing of young tsar SM Nasa of the Naza auto empire. I told him I knew where he was going with Lotus and F1. He was attacking the chicken in front of him and entertaining the "hellos' from the fans in the restaurant, and listening to my rambling. This guy can multitask, I tell you.
I told him that I was speculating that his ultimate aim would be be involved in the auto manufacturing industry. Perhaps a slice of the national car market. Or the national car project(s)?
"Whoa, you getting into my head, Rocky!" he exclaimed.
He set aside his nasi ayam and told me how he wished that would be true, that yes he wished he could offer his ideas, contribute in some ways (to the national car and the industry), that of course it would have been the ideal next-phase after investing in the F1.
He was humoring me, I thought.
And then he threw me that famous grin.
Or maybe he was serious!
You can never tell for sure with Tony F, sometimes.

And so the talk about the MAS-Air Asia "merger" talks did not surprise me. Or anyone else who'd known Tony, for that matter.  It certainly did not floor Ganesh Sahathevan, the Malaysian journalist in Australia who has been more than a little critical and skeptical of Tony. (see link to his 2008 posting below)

Personally, it saddens me, of course. I have always been partial to Malaysia Airlines except for a brief spell when I thought they were bullying Tony. That was when Air Asia was new and MAS was still flying quite high. I was heading the Malay Mail and the Business Times at the time, and both newspapers fought for Air Asia. This was before Abdullah Badawi became PM and Kalimullah became very close to Tony, but that's a different story for another time.

Tony has done pretty well with Air Asia, now everyone can see it. On the other hand, MAS has been through a lot. Too much. It was doing well until around the 1998 crisis and because of that many blamed Dr Mahathir and Tajudin Ramli, the man who "owned" MAS then. But what Nor Mohamed Yakcop and his young wizards tried to do to help MAS have not helped. In fact, the slide became steeper after that and during Pak Lah's regime, doom drew nearer for the national carrier.

Perhaps, yes perhaps, Tony is what MAS needs right now.

But I'm not done yet, this is to be continued, for sure.

PRIVATIZE AIR ASIA, TAKE OVER MALAYSIA AIRLINES; ANOTHER AVENUE ASSET-ECM LIBRA IN THE MAKING by Ganesh Sahathevan

108 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:28 pm

    Iye lah rocky jgn bv MAS kat Tony, bage kat 'young tsar sm nasa"..... Kejekkekeke young tsar konon .... Kentot sya pun Nake terbahak bagakkk ketawa..... Kekrkehehege.




    Dj Remy

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  2. Anonymous5:52 pm

    Thanks Bru, I have been waiting for this day when Rocky Bru will spill a lot of beans.

    Well done , Bro... I am also not done yet.

    More details here:

    http://www.rockybru.com.my/2010/08/why-sia-is-worth-s187-b-and-mas-is.html

    TONTO

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  3. A small fish swallow the giant.....
    In the 90s, Malaysian Helicopter Services owened by Saw H C and Tajudin Ramli took over MAS and strip its assets, divided its cargo, maintenance, catering business into separate entities.MAS has to lease planes from Tajudin.Tajudin was minting money for himself.MAS was left to bleed year after year.
    So history repeats itself with new players.Same old game.

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  4. Anonymous6:11 pm

    Rocky dear selamat Berpuasa.
    The news on the probable MAS-AirAsia deal is news indeed but not a shocking one if one were to watch closely the antics and rhetorics of DS Najib of late.
    MAS is a national carrier, also a national asset and a GLC. It has not been doing as well as Air Asia as they are totally different set up. MAS offers free meals including hard drinks on board. Its passengers can use the aero bridge for safety and comfort. It pays various charges and fees to local airport authorities. It's competing on equal and sometimes unequal grounds with other airlines.
    AirAsia is NOT a national airline. With the exception of the national flag on the nose of its aircrafts, there's nothing to show that it represents Malaysia. It has been a sluggish paymaster particluarly to MAHB which it still owes millions.
    Pride is a very important rudiment to a nation.
    Yes AirAsia has within such a short time emerged as one of the best low cost airlines in the world. One must ask how could this happen. Is it purely due to the tenacity of that gullible fellow Tony F. Of course he is not alone but who are they that hold the string from behind?
    I appeal to the Govt to leave MAS alone. Let the two arlines operate separately. Malaysia still needs to retain its pride and identity. Don't destroy them just because the merger could be beneficial to certain individuals.
    Yes it was correctly noted that the two airlines do have different cultures and traditions. The union is one of them and the public at large particularly those politically inclined and influenced, is the other vital aspect to consider - the voters.
    If the merger is realised Tony F is expected to hold 20% of shares, meaning he could be the powerful shareholder, meaning too Air Asia will control MAS a very senior airline.
    How would you feel if you are one of the senior employees of MAS if suddenly he has to work under AirAsia although may be directly but to have the feeling that one is under a new company that was laerning from you at the beginning.
    The Govt should reconsider this idea for the sake of national integrity and of course economic interests.
    Let AirAsia develops on its own and MAS under the new chairmanship endeavours to recover from those various losses.
    It is being talked about now that FELDA is being manipulated to the extent that it is suffering unnecessary losses all through PEMANDU's ideas.
    There is not real need or urgency to merge the two airlines. The PM should be cautious lest his over-arching ambitions may cause him to be the "last BN PM..."

    ZULKIFLI ABDUL RAHMAN, SHAH ALAM.

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  5. drMpower6:21 pm

    Today nst give quite big spread over this mas-air asia matter.call it what u want. Merger,acquisition.whatever

    but what makes a layman like me confuse is that why MAS need tony fernandes and air asia?
    Why a mere new budget airlines is suddenly what MAS thought the one they should pursue?

    He is controversial,that man. Venturing into f1 - with proton - back then he was telling everyone Lotus was back.and the talk about the old good days black n gold jps liveries blah blah,certainly helped his team (i dont whos to be honest,and why him not naza man,or anyone else for that matter,choosen to be team principal) with some celebrity status. Call it what u want but that 'Lotus' wasnt what he brouhaha about. It was proton's brand Lotus Car. It is because after a year in f1,he bought david hunt's brand Lotus which was the real Lotus that excelled in f1. Dont ask me what he brouhaha about in the first year those talk 'lotus was back in f1' when the 'lotus' wasnt the real lotus at all

    It is confusing i know.

    Then came the west ham thing. Before that was the caterham purchase. And if u dont know already about the antics of him n 'buddy' Branson, chances probably u are living in a cave. Or u just thick.

    And long before, there was the infamous 'duel' with MAS where the sabah,s'wak route was the hallmark of things (before it deemed 'unprofitable' enough?) of so many things including the aerobridge saga, servicing of planes, due payments,etc etc.

    Look them up. U can bind them and print a book about the issues.

    Now this MAS. i need explanation from them on why this happens. The crediblity of a man MAS turned to also not convincing at all. I know he got big mouth -because he talked so much during f1- but thats it.

    Ahh.but.wait.wait a sec. Could it be...wait,

    Who is advising MAS?

    Holy cow my godness. what u want. Merger,acquisition.whatever

    but what makes a layman like me confuse is that why MAS need tony fernandes and air asia?
    Why a mere new budget airlines is suddenly what MAS thought the one they should pursue?

    He is controversial,that man. Venturing into f1 - with proton - back then he was telling everyone Lotus was back.and the talk about the old good days black n gold jps liveries blah blah,certainly helped his team (i dont whos to be honest,and why him not naza man,or anyone else for that matter,choosen to be team principal) with some celebrity status. Call it what u want but that 'Lotus' wasnt what he brouhaha about. It was proton's brand Lotus Car. It is because after a year in f1,he bought david hunt's brand Lotus which was the real Lotus that excelled in f1. Dont ask me what he brouhaha about in the first year those talk 'lotus was back in f1' when the 'lotus' wasnt the real lotus at all

    It is confusing i know.

    Then came the west ham thing. Before that was the caterham purchase. And if u dont know already about the antics of him n 'buddy' Branson, chances probably u are living in a cave. Or u just thick.

    And long before, there was the infamous 'duel' with MAS where the sabah,s'wak route was the hallmark of things (before it deemed 'unprofitable' enough?) of so many things including the aerobridge saga, servicing of planes, due payments,etc etc.

    Look them up. U can bind them and print a book about the issues.

    Now this MAS. i need explanation from them on why this happens. The crediblity of a man MAS turned to also not convincing at all. I know he got big mouth -because he talked so much during f1- but thats it.

    Ahh.but.wait.wait a sec. Could it be...wait,

    Who is advising MAS?

    Holy cow my godness.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous6:21 pm

    1) How did Bina Fikir grow into Prominence ? By ciplaking Tajudin Ramli's M plan, and since they ciplak it they couldn't anticipate the failure ahead. 2) What did the NMY and boys restructuring do to MAS? It has brot MAS to it's knees. 3) What has the restructuring done to NMY and his boys? NMY is a celebrated minister, Azman Mokthar was herald unto KN as some wunderkid, his partner Mohd Rashdan Mohd yusof aka Danny of Bina Fikir sold biz to Maybank and join KN. And now, this Danny is being tipped to be CEO of the merged entity. 4) Who are the winners from this deal, NMY, amokh who came into KN by selling a now failed plan, Danny his partner.And the loser is MALAYSIA.... We getting a new airline with the same clowns running it..... Ade chan ke bang nak sukses?????

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  7. Anonymous6:39 pm

    I remember idris jala and Azman Mokthar stood proudly and cme out with the Asset Bundling Plan. They called ig WAU. Now MAS nak kena koa koa. Ape daa jade Idirs Jala jadi mentegi ETP, kononnya pelan yg akan majukan Malaysia. Amokh jadee bermaharajalela di KN. Bos dis pulak , nor Mohd yakoob, aka black spider makin hari makin kuat. Jgn pulak lupa k"uarga pak lah - kj dikatakan pulak ade syer dlm Airasia dan Airasia X. Syabas NMY, syabas Idris Jala, syabas azman mokthar, syabas Kalimoolah , syabas KJ. Msia truly nake kena LAZER selagi bangsat gini berleluasa.



    Dj Bujai

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  8. Anonymous6:46 pm

    End of competition. Malaysian will lose the offer of cheap fare from now on. Who will benefit more from this deal, Tony or MAS?

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  9. Anonymous6:49 pm

    No wonder the price of Air Asia was being pushed up to $ 5. From about $1.60 last year the price has shot up to nearly $ 4 and onto its target of $ 5. This will definitely help Air Asia to in its share swap with MAS. There were many rumors swirling in the KLSE about the sudden rise in Air Asia share prices. In Malaysia there is always a fire behind the smoke.

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  10. Anonymous6:52 pm

    I wonder if there are any changes in MAS procurement policy? Does it still cost RM40+ for a serving of nasi lemak for its inflight service? And the vendors for its supplies are those connected cronies. How lah Brahim Badawi, lu punye konek, I mean kontrek hehehe, and how about Law Heng Deng's son company supplying cleaning material to MAS at inflated prices????? Apo nak jadi????

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  11. Anonymous7:03 pm

    AERO Ventures own 48 per cent of Airasia X. Who owns AERO Ventures ? Tony Fernandes, Kamarudin meranun, Kalimulah Hassan Meehrul and Lim Kian Onn. Wah taniah dato Kali , resell bergolek sblm raya

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  12. Anonymous7:08 pm

    Bring in the right people. No more political appointees. If they going to put that Khazanah fella to run MAS, same thing will happen. He cocked up at Maybank IB just like this Tengku fella did with MAS. You cannot buy experience and industry know how. Get someone who has been doing this sort of work all their life to do the job

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  13. Anonymous7:09 pm

    This is how we go from ‘rags-to-riches’. And we all thought Tony Fernandez was such a great guy too. All the shareholders and/or stakeholders of Air Asia (directly, indirectly, through proxies, etc.) include Kamaluddin bin Abdullah Badawi, Kalimullah Maseerul Hassan (also into Tune Hotels), Khairy Jamaluddin, Tony Fernandez, etc…all of them are great!
    Yes, we believe in open skies, competition and all that. But friends, fellow Malaysians, this was the ex-PM, his son, his S-I-L and his cronies lah. How can they sell out their own country? But this is what they had done.

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  14. Bro

    I have been warning about another collapse of MAS and another few billion ringgit major bailout by M’sian Taxpayer for some time.

    I predicted this scenario of TF's involvement in MAS way back in 2007. Refer my post at http://donplaypuks.blogspot.com/2007/05/chapter-10-transport-aviation-1.html

    It has nothing to do with routes, oil, global downturn etc. SIA has managed to ride the ups and downs of the boom and bust economic cycles for well nigh 30 years. So, why can’t MAS?

    The answers lies in MANAGEMENT and bloated staffing. Tajuddin Ramli, Munir, Yusof, Jala and Azmil were all the wrong choices. Now the Taxpayer will have to pick up the bill once again for the excesses, greed and poor quality of MAS top, top management.

    So long as we eschew meritocracy for NEP-style cronyism and 3rd rate management, MAS will continue to lose billions.

    This problem is endemic in most of our GLC’s where mumbo jumbo accounting and cooking the books is the norm.

    Note how Proton has been declaring Profit After Tax (PAT) of a few million ringgit for the last few years when the reality is they have been incurring huge operating losses masked by mysterious R&D grants of nearly a billion ringgit, awarded generously by MoF!!

    Note too that when Azmil was appointed CEO, he immediately changed policies by opting to buy aircrafts instead of leasing them from PMB. Soon, MAS’s cash reserves dropped by a couple of $billion.

    So, this is a good time to ask how much in unpaid leasing and other charges does MAS owe PMB? Billions?

    For all that, I do not like this idea of TF and AA taking a stake in MAS by share swap or whatever mechanism.

    AA and MAS operate at different ends of the airlines business spectrum and we don’t want a MONOPOLY, as will surely happen if TF calls the shots.

    What is so difficult about headhunting internationally for a savvy, proven airlines CEO? Paying such a CEO even $10 million a year woud be infinitely cheaper than incurring 5 and 10 billion rinngit restructuring losses every 5 years!

    If the Govt can do it for the LRT GLC by hiring a Singaporean, why is MAS hesitating?

    All these so-called self-appointed “super patriots’ who think ONLY a Bumi should head MAS – ask yourself if you are ready to cough up billions more to rescue MAS when there is no end in sight?

    dpp
    we are all of 1 Race, the Human Race

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  15. Anonymous7:26 pm

    Makers of men, creators of leaders, Kali will be laughing to the bank. Here Tony, let's ramp up Airasia shares to RM 4, and do a share swap with MAS. We will get our pals NMY, Jala and Amokh to bulldoze the deal. We sell off Airasia shares and get MAS shares in return. MAS becomes the holding company, and when Airasia starts to default 3 years from now coz can't pay for the new planes, make govt buy our MAS stake coz it's the national carrier. So we make money 3 times lah bro ... Tony : Kali u r the main man, I like u even better than the young girls I send to Kong Choi. Kali : die relaks lah Tony machan, if I can get the sleepy head elected as PM. I sure as hell can get this deal done. All our people still in key govt position what, NMY, Idris, Azman, Danny. Tony : Kamal just called from London, says he is fine, and must give KJ anything'ah? Kali : Must give laa anneh. Just like ECM - avenue deal, give him crumps but if anything go wrong he will take the fall lah. Tony : Allrite, machan, let's drink some whisky!!! Kali: cannot I got a plane to catch. Goin to India to see relatives....

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  16. Anonymous7:30 pm

    Khazanah, you are not doing your job. Live the name of the word "Khazanah" will ya!.

    We might as well swap it to the "Virgin" guy.

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  17. Anonymous7:31 pm

    No company can go down so fast. Please don't blame the present management. It was Idris who the greatest harm. How...he ran MAS on govenment funds. Now a minister....more havoc to come. the man has no qualification...whatsoever!!!!

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  18. Anonymous7:34 pm

    Well, MAS and Khazanah and BN Government never learn or sombong to learn that BN-Government had spend so much money sending 'top' Malay student to study overseas, and back given top post in GLC Co. But today we can see, 3x MAS become Go Longkang Company (GLC). Today, where is UMNO-Malay face? Down to the drain. MAS suffer is because full of corruption. Why during Idris Jala time, MAS is performing well, and 2 years tukar tangan, become GLC.

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  19. Anonymous7:34 pm

    Well, MAS and Khazanah and BN Government never learn or sombong to learn that BN-Government had spend so much money sending 'top' Malay student to study overseas, and back given top post in GLC Co. But today we can see, 3x MAS become Go Longkang Company (GLC). Today, where is UMNO-Malay face? Down to the drain. MAS suffer is because full of corruption. Why during Idris Jala time, MAS is performing well, and 2 years tukar tangan, become GLC.

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  20. Anonymous7:35 pm

    Singapore Airlines, 30 years after split from MSA
    SIA's 2009 revenue SGD$1Bn- and market value USD $14Bn- need we say more?

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  21. Anonymous7:36 pm

    This is another ploy by the "milkers" to milk whatever left of MH? Why didn't they allow Qantas to take over MH and run as professional carrier? There is sneaky reasons behind it ..and good luck MH staff.......

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  22. Anonymous7:38 pm

    How can MAS make money.A three ringgit Nasi Lemak is RM 24 paid by MAS.The packing price is more than the food price.The final supply is already the fifth person,money made through Ali Baba,Baba work and Ali sleep but still make millions with a stroke of a PEN.




    Bodowi Pandai

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  23. Anonymous7:44 pm

    Ini bulan ari raya maaanya bagooos bhai'ya . Kirjaan mahu behli saya punyaa sharikat.



    Kali Patan

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  24. Rocky,
    Hopefully this merger will help MAS rid itself of the lopsided contract with it's current catering service supplier which is killing MAS. The contract period of 20 over years is too long for anybody's good. Perhaps Air Asia with its reasonably priced tasty food is a better choice.
    Good Luck to TF.

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  25. Anonymous8:56 pm

    Latuk:

    Word is that the gomen begged Tony F to do something, and Tony F as usual got his pound of flesh. He will control the board, and revamp senior management. Most important, he has a put option to Khazanah at a predetermined price if things don't work out. It's a no lose situation for him.

    Godfather

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  26. Anonymous9:31 pm

    Different company same shit. Only in Malaysia incompetent failures like nor mohammed yaacob, idris Jala and Azman mokthar are rewarded on daily basis for being freaking failures . I best this jokers and Danny will have some role to play in all this. Let mr give you some advise, I am an Arsenal fan, but if u hire Alex Ferguson , I think he will do a better job then this goons . That is how bad they are.....

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  27. Anonymous10:08 pm

    What will happen to the mostly Malay MAS work force?

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  28. Anonymous10:35 pm

    Dontplay u ni Nostradamus kah? Piggy lah luuu

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  29. Anonymous10:50 pm

    Umar

    Talk sense lah ... what does splitting the business into sections got to do with minting money for tajuddin?

    Donplaypuk

    Dont tok cock lah you. Betulkah MAS bloated staffing?

    The bloated staffing is not those outside managers issue. It is Government wanting to keep them, if the bloated argument justify.

    You know nuts of airline lah. Your macro view is missing the real issue by miles!

    Tajuddin expansion plan was fine until the financial crisis hit.

    It is the idiot after Tajuddin that are really monkey given flowers.

    This whole thing is a conspiracy and plan to destroy MAS and give to Tony on a silver platter for cheap from day 1.

    This is ECM LIbra-Avenue again!

    True Airliner
    Oh god, may I not be same race with that idiot donplaypuk

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  30. Anonymous11:37 pm

    For the life of me, can anyone tell me why Azman Mokthar still has a job with Khazanah Nasional?

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  31. For BN to continue rule, they must be able to manage conflicts, solve problems and take right decision. BN must engage the right and proven leaders. Question is do they have the right leader who can solve problems. One bad example is Idris Jala, despite all the blunders that he has done in MAS causing the loss of RM 3 billions tax payer money, the former MOF2 said he is the best CEO money can buy, current MOF 1 even promoted him as a Minister to a Minister that recently created a brouhaha by saying Malaysia will be bankrupt in 2019 if we dont cut the subsidies to the people. Excuse me, Mr. Minister, former MAS MD, former Shell executive... where do you study economics... even developed countries give subsidies, ma. The actual causes are leakages and wastages, just like in MAS… don’t blabber if you don not understand the issues. With leader like this, howlah to solve simple probem like that. More pekung to surface soon.

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  32. Anonymous11:44 pm

    Ya Tony had asked 30 pct but got less. Tony is using the art of war. Where r u Ibrahim Ali , perkasa when we need u....

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  33. Anonymous11:55 pm

    You have Idris Jala who seemed to have added even the PM as an admiring fan, Tsu Koon, Raja Nong Chik, Shahrizat, and many others. You want to know what the MCA ministers are doing. They are busy making money. All of them. The mocking phrase of Yen Yen Jalan Jalan Curi Makan is not without substance you know. The market knows it.

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  34. Anonymous11:57 pm

    There is a joke going around time that we used to have Idiot as the PM, now we have a PM with a lot of Idiots as adviser.

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  35. Anonymous11:58 pm

    i heard from a little bird that a Malaysian company has ordered and received 30 million pieces of flags from China.this is probably for Merdeka celebrations and the forth coming elections.say,at a profit of rm 3 per piece,we are talking rm90 million.Malaysia boleh!

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  36. Anonymous12:02 am

    AirAsia buys MAS’ RM1.60/share using their own money but Khazanah buys AA’s RM3.95/share thru taxpayers’ money?

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  37. Anonymous12:15 am

    I say Omar Ong recently appointed to Airasia board and magic happens.

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  38. Anonymous12:18 am

    Who is the agent for Airbus in Malaysia when Airasia ordered the plane ? KAMAL of Penang.

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  39. cucu nenek1:06 am

    I am so disheartened at the way the current government is managing the country.

    Binafikir's WAU, Idris Jala's turnaround plan were supposed to turn around MAS. What happened?

    The recent movement of the AirAsia share prices is very suspicious.... swap being done based on latest market prices?

    I shudder to think of what the country will turn out to be after PEMANDU being in charge. Who will bail out Malaysia then?

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  40. Anonymous1:26 am

    Rather than engaging, the glib-talking TF, MAS would be better advised to imitate his model of hub and spokes using Firefly for short haul regional and MAS for long haul international. And of course reining in costs, avoiding big capital outlays or commitments and optimising aircraft utilisation and turn around time by route rationalisation and improved efficiencies, staff attrition and leveraging on technology would not be harmful for growth and profitably prospects in the least. As for TF being a saviour, forget it and here are some reasons why! No, I am not trawling the Christo route but cant help feeling that in Idris Jala and TF we have two Christo wankers with enough self motivation to drag MAS through the mire just to spite Muslim faces....(ROFL). Anyway, about Air asia................

    1.As of the 1st Quarter of 2011, Air Asia (AA) debts amounted to 7.7 billion with cash balances amounting to 1.7billion.

    2. In August 2010. AA announced a deferment of their proposed aircraft purchases but sometime in June 2011 they reversed their decision and proceeded to place an order for an additional 200 new aircrafts at the Paris Air Show.

    3. As of 31 March 2011, based on data from their 1st Quarter report, AA’s capital commitments stood at RM 19 billion. With the above announcement, an additional RM 54 billion will be added as Capital Commitments as implied in this article:
    http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/6/24/business/8966621&sec=business
    the proposed CC of roughly 75 billion will be spread over a 15 year period ending 2026. In other words,AA has to ratchet up its earnings to an average of 5 billion per annum to meet its future dues. From 2006 to 2010. AA’s revenue grew by 10 fold from 110 million to roughly 1.1billion, an average growth of RM 200 million per annum.

    4. Its cash trove rose 6 fold from approximately 300 million to 1.7 billion but its debts skyrocketed from 1.05 billion in 2006 to 7.7 billion in 2010, an increase of 700%. One gets the ghastly feeling that this is a debt burden that is spiralling out of control.

    The schedule for the aircraft delivery is as follows with the Neo being received from 2016 onwards:
    2012 = 14
    2013 = 13
    2014 = 18
    2015 = 19
    2016 = 19 (4 Neo)
    2017 = 14
    2018 = 18
    2019 = 19
    2020 = 20
    2021 = 21
    2022 = 23
    2023 = 24
    2024 = 24
    2025 = 24
    2026 = 9

    To compound the issue, the world economy including Asia’s will be into another maelstrom and air travel will invariably be hit:
    http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/08/02/bloomberg1376-LPCGED6TTDS201-7DB69T4DDVIF7J1IS4SUCOAULO.DTL

    and we probably will have a white elephant in NS soon give or take three years and another one of my dire predictions I made in when commenting on AA in 2009 materialises.

    Of course AA can cancel orders but contract penalties will be onerous. In any case, TF is betting on the assumption that being a big borrower will shield him from foreclosure as banks will be leery of bearing heavy losses! bUt then a sizeable chunk of those loans are being held by Malaysian banks and in the worst case scenario, the government and the taxpayer will have to pick the tab to avert a financial meltdown cascading down the AA slope.

    Warrior 231

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  41. Anonymous4:48 am

    Satu lagi projek raksasa BN. Temberang Satu. Malaysia. Rakyat di perbodohkan , wang ringgit diutamakam.

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  42. Anonymous4:56 am

    Durian runtuh dan rezeki bergolek buat Nor Mohamed Yakoob, Amokh, Danny, Tony, Kian Onn , Kamaluddin & Braheem Bodo, anak Law Heng Deng, dan Kalimoolah .

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  43. Anonymous6:05 am

    DJ Bujai, as much as I hate to defend Idris Jala, I have to correct you that WAU was done by Rashdan during the tenure of Md Nor as CEO.

    This smells like a bailout.

    But the real question is for whom.

    MAS might not be performing financially but Air Asia debt is increasing. Air Asia is the one in serious need for cash to pay for their 200 airplane purchase and to pay for the aircraft deliveries that have been silently deferred several times.

    This is not a swap but more a buying into. The purchase of the 20% stake in Air Asia will cost more than twice the money to buy a similar slice of MAS. A 20% stake in MAS is a bigger voice on the board than a 20% stake in Air Asia.

    Rationalization my foot. This can be done without an equity swap.

    This stinks.

    Adait Aman

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  44. Anonymous8:46 am

    A disaster in the making. The AA bubble will burst soon and with it Malaysia will go down the drain when the Government will have to pick up the tab due to massive loan default by AA. The merger is not in the interest of the nation. Why can't the Pee Em see that? Maybe he is in it too together with the previous Pee Em?

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  45. Anonymous8:50 am

    Dumb deal set by dumber people on a nation of dummies.

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  46. Anonymous8:53 am

    Najeeeeees

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  47. Anonymous9:23 am

    the truth is gov now dont have money. some money the gov have, probably go to defense purchase for the nation 'security'.

    so instead of keeping share in mas, better stick the dick into airasia, at least gov get couple of mills each year, enough to cover the karipaps and meehon goreng at each departments meetings everyday.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Anonymous9:37 am

    Roc!
    For once lets fcuk the pride and let SIA to take over and then we see results....No use lah Air Asia to buy or share swaps and those nonsense....its gonna be a wasteful venture full of holes.
    Why dont they admit this MAS air carrier is a hopeless thing....

    ReplyDelete
  49. Anonymous9:42 am

    Malu laa MAS kena main blakang

    ReplyDelete
  50. Anonymous9:51 am

    Ha ha rocky "very interesting view" taken nowdays.
    Yes, this Malaysian Indian guy rocks and the world is sure being rocked now..even yours.

    Swami

    ReplyDelete
  51. Anonymous11:46 am

    50 bil wiped out from msian stock exchange, and Tony - Omar Ong has just done magic over unsuspecting Msians.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Anonymous12:36 pm

    Tolong pecat Azman Mokthar

    ReplyDelete
  53. "As of the 1st Quarter of 2011, Air Asia (AA) debts amounted to 7.7 billion with cash balances amounting to 1.7billion"

    Khazanah Nasional Boss, Azman Mokhtar should resign if he allow this shareswap/merger/takeover of MAS by AA. Share swaps based on prevailing share price of the two entities is a academic exercise as share prices can be manipulated.

    Somebody is getting very rich using public money and that is just not right its like daylight robbery.

    ReplyDelete
  54. Anonymous1:09 pm

    Remember JJ Ong, who turn MAS Cargo to profit central? Until today MAS-Tajuddin Ramli case is still pending and no case. Some one Told me that the MAS GM have the write to appoint consultant to do he/her job. For example, flight schedule, the GM is no able or know nothing how to do it. He/she hired a consultant firm for few millions RM to arrange the new schedule. Than why we pay GM a salary than. This is problem in MAS. If AA to have share in MAS, I am sure Tony will want to take charge of management. And also buying of new air plane, my friend told me there is a lot of 'money' hand involve. That is why Jala was ask to PM department, and new people new deal of air plane. During Jala time, no new plane was bought. Funny ha....

    ReplyDelete
  55. Anonymous3:38 pm

    Surely Tan Sri Azman is fully aware of the lucrative catering business in the airline industry in Malaysia was taken from MAS and handed over in a silver plater to LSG Sky Chef Brahim Sdn Bhd (LSG) during the Pak Lah’s administration sometimes in 2004 to service and cater for all National and most International Airlines flying to and from Kuala Lumpur. It is believed that the contractual terms are one sided and unusually long!

    Why is Tan Sri Azman not interested in finding ways and means to take back this lucrative business of servicing and catering for all airline in and out of KLIA with government help in the national interest for MAS? Why when AirAsia FAKS gave up Rural Air Services (RAS) PREMATURELY, Khazanah did not demand for the return of the subsidy of RM65 million from FAKS? Why Khazanah did not demand for the payment of RM35 million, which was incurred by MAS to make the 7 aircraft airworthy for RAS, from AirAsia FAKS? These are enough glaring facts for Tan Sri Azman to ponder

    ReplyDelete
  56. Anonymous4:16 pm

    Dear Rocky,

    Just like your comment previuosly on 8TV, I think we should demand that heads must roll. Nothing short of Azman Mokhtar's head himself for his continuous failures and lack of business acumen plus savvyness.

    Some old trusted dogs must go either voluntarily or involuntarily. This is people's money that they are toying around with. Stop feeding us with mumbo jumbo terms and jargons, just pack and go!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  57. bila harga petrol mahu turun, harga minyak dunia sudah turun. tolong tanya sama menteri

    usabukata

    ReplyDelete
  58. Skilgannon10665:00 pm

    warrior xxx

    Your analysis is flawed.

    - consider market capitalisations. If you believe that stock markets are the best judges of a company's prospects - the market cap of AirAsia at close of trading on Friday, 5 Aug 2011, was RM11 billion (S$4.5 billion). The market cap of MAS as at the same date was RM5.3 billion (S$2.6 billion). That's a pretty steep differential.

    - by comparison, Singapore Airlines (SIA) market cap as at 29 July 2011 was S$16.98 billion.

    - go on, let's hear why comparing MAS against SIA is apples vs oranges; not withstanding the fact that a small citystate with a population of 5 million+ can host an a top-tier 5-star airline with a very high market cap. I am sure that the reasons for the divergence between the erstwhile siblings (MAS and SIA in the now-defunct Malaysia-Singapore Airlines) is worth repeating, at least for the catalogue of excuses put up by the apologists for MAS, including those who wanted to protect, at all costs, it's sacrosanct status as a true-blue emblem of affirmative action Malaysian-style.

    - the question about the alleged ramping-up of AirAsia's share prices is open to doubt. I believe that foreign investors hold close to 50% of AirAsia's shares. These investors, including foreign funds, are notoriously hard-headed and unsentimental. I doubt that they would be engaged in collusive price-ramping actions that would be investigated by both Bursa Malaysia and the Securities Commission.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Skilgannon10665:10 pm

    The question also arises as to how MAS lost it's way against the rampant airlines from the Middle East, such as Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad. Closer to home, we have dominant airlines like SIA and Cathay Pacific who derive close to 50% of top-line revenues from premium passenger traffic, based on the strong air hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore.

    Dubai has positioned itself as THE air hub on the ""kangaroo route" between Australia and the UK/Europe; even Singapore's Changi Airport is worried by this. What more our own KLIA which seems to lack a serious game plan as to what it's role should be in an Asean open skies environment.

    So, let's see who in Malaysia lost their way wrt MAS:

    - the government (Transport and Tourism Ministries)
    - Malaysia Airports (KLIA)
    - MAS (and, by implication, Khazanah)

    And whose fault is it that KL is not an international MNC/business/banking/logistics hub a la Hong Kong and Singapore? The presence of hub operations provides lucrative business traffic to feed the premium cabins of airlines, where MAS runs a very distant fifth behind the likes of SIA, Cathay Pacific, Qantas and British Airways.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Anonymous5:22 pm

    Rocky wrote, "...Perhaps, yes perhaps, Tony is what MAS needs right now."

    Yeah, Rocky... just like you need a kick up your rump!

    Your Tony Fernandez is nothing more than your average con-man.

    ReplyDelete
  61. Anonymous6:56 pm

    After AirAsia-MAS deal, can we expect Proton-Naza merger, since Khazanah-owned Proton has been losing money forever and ever?

    ReplyDelete
  62. Anonymous7:20 pm

    Anon 6:11

    Well written. I fully agree with you.

    ReplyDelete
  63. "Dontplay u ni Nostradamus kah? Piggy lah luuu" Anon 10.25

    But I did predict it and the proof is there in black & white.

    Any why bring in Nostradamus? Your type hates Jews, but can quote him selectively? Piggy yourself. Hmm, and this is the month of Ramadan for you, yet you bring in piggy?

    "Dont tok cock lah you. Betulkah MAS bloated staffing" Anon 10.50

    Heh, heh, heh! This is the biggest open secret and you don't know about it? Heh, heh, heh!

    dpp
    we are all of 1 Race, the Human Race

    dpp
    we are all of 1 Race, the Human Race

    ReplyDelete
  64. Anonymous9:52 pm

    Skilganon, foreign funds are NO saints, and are known to play ball, with those who want to ramp up shares. Have you forgotten IRIS.


    Soldier of Fortune

    ReplyDelete
  65. Anonymous9:54 pm

    All this is CRAP. In the end govt will bail out a bigger failuer then before

    ReplyDelete
  66. So Kali the Pathan python juga yang kaya.
    Can buy another flat in London to house King Sodomy and Din Merican.
    My friends and relatives in MAS will lose their job, I guess.
    I see troubles ahead.
    I fear UMNO will lose votes from the retrenched MAS employees, who are majority Malays.

    ReplyDelete
  67. Anonymous10:52 pm

    In business when you join one good firm with one that is bad you get two bad firms. That is how you kill two birds with one stone.

    ReplyDelete
  68. Anonymous11:10 pm

    Now let's see. Tun Badawi is advisor of MAS. Ibrahim Badawi supplies food for MAS. Azman Mokthar was brought into Khazanah Nadional by Nor Mohd Yaccob. Kalimoolah is part owner of Airasia X. During the sale of Naluru, Lim Kian Onn, Kali's partner was using Nor Mohd Yaccob as inside man to Tun Badawi. I am sure Rocky can throw some light into this was Kali and advisor to Ibrahim Badawi when he was eyeing MAS catering? A guy by name of Kamal from Penang is agent for Airbus. Who is this Kamal? Now apart from changing the PM, it seems the Badawi regime people are in firm control.

    ReplyDelete
  69. Anonymous11:48 pm

    dalam top managemant MAS pun byk politik..masing2 ada agenda tersendiri...zaman Idris...kena cold storage...zaman tengku diambil semula malah dinaikan pangkat....sebab laki dia CEO glc

    ReplyDelete
  70. This is a con job of the highest order. Giving 20% MAS shares to Tony Fernandes is daylight robbery.

    AirAsia is a company whose airplanes are still unpaid in the billions. While MAS assets are all paid for.

    Is this a bail out for AirAsia who has no money to pay for 200 planes.

    How is Tony Fernandes going to pay for 200 jets with no money? The banks of course but which bank will take risk of payments on revenue of nasi lemak and peanuts and free tickets.

    Like a ponzi scheme, Tony has to continue borrow bigger and bigger.

    In Japan he said that he will be able to keep cost like in Malaysia. Is he going to import everything from Malaysia and not use japanese inputs?

    This is not magic but pure ponzi. By the time he is discovered he will be retired with multibillion MAS assets.

    ReplyDelete
  71. Seolferwulf6:21 am

    What's MAS's workforce being mostly Malays have anything to do with the problems it's facing?

    That's a $&@ canard and a $&@ red herring, if I ever heard one!

    You are either productive or non-productive. Race or religion has nothing to do with it!

    Well, not unless you are of the Perkasa/Utusan Malaysia/Harian Metro persuasion, in which case economic logic and financial savvy are alien concepts to you.

    Which is why MAS has been mismanaged to it's knees, and then some.

    Get that Ibrahim Ali dude to come in and restructure MAS and make it lean, mean and profitable. It's time for him to walk the talk instead of tossing cheap stink bombs at all and sundry.

    Heck, even the warrior wannabe or the anti whatever may want to take on the task of turning MAS around, seeing as how they are fond of pronouncing economic nostrums dressed up in eloquent verbiage.

    I wouldn't lose any sleep if I am running Singapore Airlines...

    ReplyDelete
  72. Be careful, People... these Budget operators are all suicidal. Proof below:


    .”I know Malaysians very well,” said Fernandes, a native of Malaysia. “If you put a fare low enough, they’ll risk their lives,” he said, as the crowd laughed.

    Asked whether he was planning to start another airline, Kelleher joked: “If the thought entered my mind, I’d buy a pistol.”
    Source: http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2008/09/24/airline.html?sid=101

    ReplyDelete
  73. Anonymous9:19 am

    I say rocky , if Airasia and MAS were trading yest, I wonder how much they would have fell. The star says, Rashdan aka Danny will be in exco running MAS. Danny and Azman Mokh did the failed Bina Fikir plan for MAS. Danny F up in Maybank. Now being given chance in MAS.

    ReplyDelete
  74. Anonymous9:31 am

    Datuk Rocky,

    Hail to the two 21st century Malaysia corporate knights Tony et Kamaruddin.....I would rather MAS get swallowed by the red dragon (AIR ASIA) rather than by the yellow dragon (SIA)


    Prof Awe Kecik

    ReplyDelete
  75. Anonymous9:59 am

    As long as it will benefit RAKYAT..why not...

    cuma kena make sure the ownership doesnt go to other than malaysian...

    ReplyDelete
  76. Mustapha Ong11:08 am

    Dear Bru,

    You have set the records right and indeed timely to highlight the latest development in the tussle between MAS and AirAsia. Luckily, after more than 7 years I believe finally our friend Munir gave way and decided to quit MAS and let someone else do the job.

    Now it's a job well done and I believe the AirAsia Board had made a wise decision in this long awaited national airline merger between MAS and AirAsia. We are not saying that MAS didn't do well after the departure of Idris Jala but could have been more strategically focused and get back to basics. However, it's sad to note that there are some past senior MAS board members who disagreed that the merger of both these airlines will bring greater opportunity to MAS and AirAsia combined in this competitive airline sector.

    On the other hand, we know that AirAsia under the steering leadership of Tony and his team, the budget airline had grown from being an unknown chip on the block, until what it is today and is still full of steam to grow regionally and internationally.Credit goes to Tony who has got talents in many ways.

    Tony has golden fingers and whatever he pursues and touches will turn into another goldmine. Congrats to my dear friend Tony Fernandes!Keep it up Tony and fly the National Flag whatever way you think it's best for this 1Malaysia nation.

    ReplyDelete
  77. I agree with a lot of comments here.
    The very idiots who came up with these accounting sleight of hand are at it again.
    This time bringing in Tony - who will prioritize Air Asia's interests over MAS.
    Tony takes no risk without putting in his cash and we the taxpayer subsidise the 'takeover'. Tony wins and can screw MAS royally.

    And isn't this new model purely a cartel or monopoly situation again? No other country would allow this sort of situation as it is anti-competitive in nature...

    Najib putting his faith in morons like Nor Yaakob and Azman and gang is just stupidity. Instant way of losing your credibility...

    ReplyDelete
  78. Anonymous1:59 pm

    we have seen how a private company, under tajuddin, destroyed MAS back then. I think we might see this happening again. private company are not bounded by national obligation..it is dangerous. We saw how airasia screwed up the rural air services n sabah n sarawak and now khazanah is going to let them have a say in MAS. tsk..pening la


    angel

    ReplyDelete
  79. Anonymous4:25 pm

    Yes Saudara Rocky,

    Tony will indeed be able to cast his magic - eclipse the potential of a Malay (maybe not found yet) to really navigate MAS out of its doldrum and continuously chart reasonable profits.

    I am dissappointed with Azman Mokhtar because he told lies - denied the news on the first day, admitted it the very next day.

    He was the blunder in many of our GLCs corporate decisions - sold off ECM Libra to Singapore, sold off Alliance Bank to Singapore, formulated the plan to save MAS from its debts for the first time by asking the government to fork out billions to take over MAS liabilities in order to let MAS operate on clean slate, yet could not get it out of the crises. And for the 'Not So Wise Idea' he was appointed by 'Not So Wise PM' to be the CEO of Khazanah.

    It is a sad day for me. What more will we hear?

    Zaib

    ReplyDelete
  80. Anonymous4:54 pm

    Tengku Datuk Azmil Zaharudin, F up in MAS, will now be made ED of Khazanah Nasional.
    Azman Mokthar and Rashdan aka Danny, the two Bina Fikir wankers will now run MAS.

    I SAY MAN ONLY IN MALAYSIA, FAILURES ARE REWARDED.

    Kalimulah, will get some more MONEY because Azman Mokthar's KN is buying a 10 per cent stake in AIRASIA X, which Kalimulah is a substantial shareholder.

    I SAY MAN ONLY IN MALAYSIA, SINGAPORE LOVERS GET A FAT CHEQUE FROM MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT entity.

    When Airasia was listed how many per cent did Tony Fernandes have? 44.76 . Now he got how many per cent? less than 27 per cent
    When this deal with MAS is through, he will have about 17 per cent to 20 per cent. Clearly TONY is CASHING OUT.

    I SAY MAN ONLY IN MALAYSIA, YOU ARE MADE OUT TO BE A HERE FOR CASHING OUT.

    Naseb Melayu

    ReplyDelete
  81. Anonymous5:01 pm

    Tengku taniah jadi director kat KN, walaupun gagal di MAS.


    Msia semuaaaaa bole bole

    ReplyDelete
  82. Seolferwulf5:18 pm

    Zaib

    Eclipse the "potential" of a Malay to turn around MAS?

    Why not a MALAYSIAN - be he or she Malay, Chinese, Indian, Eurasian or indigenes?

    What's race got to do with managerial talent and ability?

    Unless you are one of those who hold to the dogma that MAS is an emblem of racial supremacy? Maybe that's why it had to be bailed out so many times!

    ReplyDelete
  83. Anonymous7:11 pm

    Danny @ Rashdan will be appointed as COO of the merged AirAsia-MAS? Why the hell put a Finance guy with poor execution track record to head operation of an airline business? Was he the same guy that made million from taxpayers money for coming up with a useless WAU strategy? Or Is it because he is a good friend of Khazanah's CEO? He fucked up BIG TIME in Maybank due to poor people skills, zero leadership quality, too much text-book strategy,..and the list goes on, and now he will be the COO of AirAsia-MAS? Wow, i wonder what Talent Corp has been doing so far? Too difficult to rope in the right candidate and settled for a proven loser?

    WTF

    ReplyDelete
  84. Anonymous8:48 pm

    We live in an age of common nonsense, an age where charlatans thrive and stupidity soars like a majestic condor borne on the wings of self-delusion. It is an age where the mind is impervious to reason simply because it is drowned by the deadly swill of nonsense overflowing the public trough, waterproofed against logic’s corrosive touch. Truth be damned and lies be hammed is the mantra of the nouveau intelligentsia including many selfstyled know it alls here.

    Farewell sweet truth until my heart be crushed by thy weighty undesirability. When the wellsprings of my conscience are becalmed by the whispering zephyrs of imbecility and the elysian fields of my soul enraptured by idiocy’s call, wither should I lift the veils of denial to stare at stark naked Truth? How gross indeed! (ROFL)

    Market capitalisation? (ROFL).................Since when did the magic in that lilting phrase ‘market capitalisation” ever dispel the doubts of sustainability. Was not CitiBank enjoying stratospheric MCs at the apogee of its arrogance only to be reduced to gibbering wreck at the bat of eyelid?. And what about that market Lothario, Lehmann out on a date with Bears and Sterns mumbling Wachovia sweet nothings while munching Morgan Stanleys. Great market caps all, but alas primed to fall by the rots beneath their walls. Just as Wall Street does not reflect Main Street so does market caps do not radiate inner health. Ask Repco that.


    I wonder too if this lovely turn of phrase I read today on Reuters : “Instead, Gaffney said, investors are focused on "how Europe and the U.S. are going to work their way out of a high debt burden if economic growth remains slow” will one day be rephrased "how AirAsia is going to work its way out of a high debt burden" if air travel growth stagnates or plummets”. By then the charging bulls of today might turn tail and bray like donkeys without hay as life turns a daily black Monday. Contemporary market caps are tomorrow’s garbage worth less than the newsprint they are rendered in. Darling stocks without strong fundamentals are nothing more than frothing bubbles frothing within a macrocosmic balloon enjoying their trick while dreading the prick. No business ever grew healthy on the fat of debt just as no sovereign can forever carry the burden of IOUs. Ask the US and S&P that.


    But then again, herd instinct and feel good vibes are hard to resist especially for dolts with heads screwed on by bolts. So they charge in fuelled by greed for a feeding frenzy only to be soon left fooled and left feeling stupid and crazy

    The signs are many: big talk about West Ham but no moolah to buy a sham; rumours about QPR but a lot of ah and prrrrrs. Lotus to be up in the midpack but floundering like a cheap six-pack at the back; Tune Air supposed to buyout Asia’s Air but turned out to be a gust of hot air: deferred deliveries even on the promise of higher growth, failed hedge bets, unpaid taxes ah, the list is endless
    : http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/2/15/business/8063010&sec=business

    Maybe, the smart people here can do an Altmann z-score test on this outfit two years down the road when even hobos will decline free seats to rub noses with a bunch of bozos: http://www.creditguru.com/CalcAltZ.shtml

    Me? why bother for I am just a warrior smitten by destiny to dispatch a fool to hellfire after he is slit wide from ear to ear.

    Warrior 231

    ReplyDelete
  85. Skilgannon106610:29 pm

    Naseb Melayu 4:54 PM

    No where in your polemic do you pinpoint what actually went wrong in MAS and who was responsible for it?

    Why? Is that beyond your capabilities of intelligent analysis and logical conclusions?

    And what's this crap about "Singapore lovers"? I dare say that Singapore Airlines is better-managed, more profitable and has a higher market cap than MAS.

    But you already knew that, didn't you?

    ReplyDelete
  86. Temuljin3:11 am

    This is a major milestone in Malaysian Aviation, yet it seems there are some bad after taste or rather after thot.
    May we, concerned and affected citizen be enlightened on the chronological timeline that resulted in the event.
    !. When and how long was the due diligence if at all being done?
    2.What was the result of the due diligence?
    3. Was or is the Cabinet in the loop on this developments?
    4. MAS is a critical national asset and is best practices been adhered to this exercise?
    May I suggest that all those minority shareholders who doubt the integrity of the exercise file an injunction to obtain clarification.

    ReplyDelete
  87. Anonymous5:14 am

    1.    What do Tajuddin Ramli and Tengku Azmil have in common?

    Both of them presided over the financial collapse of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and both are still being rewarded.

    Tajuddin by the simple fact that despite the police concluding that he could be charged with wrongdoing, he is still walking around town, wealthy and living the good life.

    Now I read in The Malaysian Insider that Tengku Azmil has been removed as managing director of MAS but will be rehired as a senior director with Khazanah Nasional, the sovereign wealth fund of the country.

    This is why this country is such a mess: there is no accountability. You can cause the financial ruin of an icon but are rewarded with a sweet deal.

    And by the way, since we are on the topic of accountability and responsibility, wasn’t Azman Mokhtar of Khazanah Nasional the brains behind the restructuring of MAS when he was at BinaFikir?

    Wasn’t he adamant about taking on AirAsia? Didn’t he know that the business model of MAS was broken?

    Isn’t he culpable for what has happened at MAS?

    I find it interesting that his sidekick at BinaFikir, Rashdan Yusof, is now in charge of daily operations at MAS. I guess there is no downside in getting it really wrong in Malaysia.

    2.    I have to wonder what is the use of the Transport Ministry portfolio and the people at Khazanah Nasional and EPF and the Ministry of Finance and the Economic Planning Unit.

    The demise of MAS did not happen overnight. The company has been in the ICU for more than 10 years but has been revived with some cost-cutting measures.

    Now we are told that actually the company needs an operational overhaul. And it needed more than 10 years for someone to figure this out!

    That MAS could not survive on its current business model. What happened to expensive consultants hired by Khazanah Nasional?

    There was a time when we could trust the brainpower of the people in government. Now we just hope they can minimise the screw-ups.

    ReplyDelete
  88. Anonymous5:44 am

    Skilgannon, u must be pretty daft, not knowing that Kalimoolah, has long been suspected by the intelligence committee here to be a Singapore operative. I don't care about Singapore Airlines, I care about MAS, as it is my country's national carrier. I am disturbed that Khazanah is going to buy a 10 per cent stake in Airasia X for an UNDISCLOSED sum. Airasia Bhd only owns 16 pct of AAsia X. Kalimoolah has a VERY large stake in Airasia X.


    Naseb Melayu

    ReplyDelete
  89. Anonymous5:46 am

    Can anyone tell me WHY Azman Mokthar, Rashdan Yusof and Tengku of MAS still have a JOB????

    ReplyDelete
  90. Anonymous5:55 am

    who is the adviser to MAS? who supplies nasi lemak to MAS and at what price? how many ex loyal politicians/bureaucrats are being rewarded sitting on the board of MAS and its subsidiaries.

    how did tan sri aziz and tan sri saw huat lye made so much money for mas and then it was downhill after they left.

    ReplyDelete
  91. Anonymous6:09 am

    What will happen now to the 11 million share option given to MAS Tengku Azmil???? Gaji buta kah? Durian runtoh kah ? Rezeki bergolek kah?




    Pak buToh

    ReplyDelete
  92. Anonymous6:19 am

    Dato Bernand Francis, was detained breifly by MAS Internal investigators for selling company flight route secrets? I think, the blogger APANAMA knows details about this guy. His wife, or should I say now ex wife, was a big shot DATIN in FOX Communications during Kali, Brendan and Bodowi's reign of slumber and plunder.

    Dj Reme

    ReplyDelete
  93. Anonymous6:21 am

    Bernard Francis is one of Idris Jala's boys. He was kicked out from AIR ASIA for trying to set up his own Airline with help from Canada's bombardier. If ever there was an Indian snake, Bernard is the one. Highly corrupt. He sold MAS secrets to rivals, and was caught in the ACT, Was transfered out, merely to head another division. Which reminds me, it really doesnt matter if you are Malay, Chinese or Indian, as long as you are a crony, everything you do will be swept under the carpet.

    ReplyDelete
  94. Anonymous6:45 am

    I am astonished MAS, malaysia' national carrier will be run by part timers on a part time basis . Azman Mokh from KN will oversee ops, Rashdan , man with no human skills will help. Tony of Airasia , will also be there to lend a helping hand. How nice, I think somebody has been listening to stevie wonders part time lover too often and as a result, we have the part time boys now running MAS.



    Dj Bujai

    ReplyDelete
  95. Anonymous10:30 am

    Melayu kaya walaupun bodoh, kian berjaya .... Amokh, Tengku Azmil, Mohd Yusof - Danny Bina Fikir . Semua dibuat atas nama bangsa kita. Melayu lain, walaupun bijak tak diberi peluang langsung.



    Naseb Melayu

    ReplyDelete
  96. Anonymous12:39 pm

    At the end of the day, the one that benefit the most from AirAsia/MAS merger is the advisor - CIMB (also the advisor for the failed SYNERGY DRIVE = SIME DARBY).

    ReplyDelete
  97. Anonymous1:06 pm

    the Khazanah boss can tell the public how he got appointed to head it in the first place .Can he explained how MAS is a losing concern in the first place if he is so smart.If he was the head of a non GLC he would long be gone.Because of his suckering up to his masters he is still in Khazanah.Soon Khazanah will be needing bailouts too.

    ReplyDelete
  98. Anonymous1:10 pm

    It is well known that there are many hands in the MAS cookie jar. A glaring example is the Brahim LSG catering but what are hidden are the aircraft purchases. It is very lucrative for the people involved. A standard practice by aircraft manufacturer is to give a 5% commission to the introducer. A further discount is given to large purchases and also depends on how desperate they want to conclude the sale. There is no loss to the manufacturer as they make up for it with cost of spares and support. After all you are tied to the manufacturer for the life of the airplane.

    A friend of mine was involved in taking delivery of the aircraft related to me that on one occasion during a delivery ceremony, a manufacturer’s finance person commented “How is it that MAS pays the full sticker price for the airplane when everybody else gets a discount.” That statement is full of meaning. In the mid 90’s, the sticker price for a B747-400, which MAS paid, was $165m. SIA was reported to have paid $120m for the same aircraft. MAS used to borrow the 10% down payment and the rest of the 90%. Interest rates are kept secret as a certain percentage goes elsewhere.

    A recent revelation that was told to me is that MAS has a local vendor for its aircraft spares. The million-dollar question is why does MAS need a local vendor or any third party to buy spares for them. It has buildings full of technical personnel who are more that competent to purchase parts from the respective manufacturer. Intermediaries will add cost to what is already an expensive acquisition. On one web posting where comparison was made between MAS and SIA in terms of expenditure, it show that MAS maintenance and aircraft cost is 3 times higher than SIA while the staff cost is lower. That dispels the myth that MAS is overstaffed. It is after all in a customer service business.
    MAS is made to run a 100m dash from 200m behind the starting line.

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  99. Anonymous1:13 pm

    As for Azman Mokhtar, let’s not be too harsh on him. He did a good paper deal in reshuffling his portfolio. But he did nothing to enhance the long-term competitiveness of MAS. Just changing a CEO and a few directors won’t do, even with Tony inside. If you care to look closely all the new directors have an accounting or finance background, and none with an airline CV, except Tony. So how are they going to talk to him? And who has the time and guts to go into the bowels of MAS to weed out inefficiencies and corruption? Those who preceded Danny were defeated like the British Army, the Soviet Army and now the US Army in Afghanistan. They came, suffered casualties and left with honour dented. The Afghans (read: MAS) remained the same.

    If Khazanah really wants MAS to be a profitable airline like SIA and Cathay Pacific, then structure its management like them. Let them operate independently, and let them recruit the best there is. No NEP and other restrictive and destructive policies in the way. If they can’t do that, then continue to find a white knight every few years

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  100. Anonymous2:07 pm

    1) From whom is Khazanah Nasional proposing to buy 10 per cent stake in Airasia X? Currently, the major shareholder of Airasia X are Aero Ventures (Kalimoolah and Tony's personal stake included ) with a 48 pct stake. Airasia Bhd owns only 16 per cent of Airasia X. So is KN buying the 10 pct stake in Airasia X from Aero or from Airasia Bhd?

    2) How much is KN going to pay for the stake in Airasia X?

    3) What gaurantee is there Tony won't dump his Airasia shares since effectively now with KN and EPF combined stake, Tony has become a minority in Airasia ?

    4) Tony still has Airasia X , he could list it in Hong Kong, move Airasia X hq to Bangkok, and screw everybody.

    Soldier of Fortune

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  101. Anonymous2:19 pm

    Dear Seolferwulf,

    Why Malay and not other races? Its very simple ... how many Chinese and Indian owned companies would take a Malay as a CEO in comparison to the number of Malay owned companies which hire non-Malays as CEO.

    Its the Constitutional privilige of the Malays after all pal ... agreed upon by all in 1957 - the Malays maintain they special privileges, while the non-Malays were granted citizenship - that gave us MERDEKA - the agreement to co-exist - and it still binds.

    Zaib

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  102. Yeah Rocky you are another clone that cling to the puppet master.

    Be realistic about it. What Tony could do is to spin Air Asia from no assets to big assets even before IPO. That's day light robbery but in Malaysia bolehland anything could happen.

    Now with MAS he could be as you said 'multitasking man' what? Excuse me he could turn around MAS instead he claim to have his own hangar that bring Malaysia backward 50 years with LCCT since he said KLIA is very expensive! But now he has his luxury hangar again not that expensive with RM2b budget given by the Government! So KLIA still not enough with 35m pax per year capacity running at 18.3 pax per year currently! Yeah, now Tony has his own 35m pax per year with KLIA2. Another spinning master of Tony.

    But Tony doesn't work alone he has the help of that Azman Mohktar, Rashdan Danny and of course with the 'Yes' of our beloved Dayus PM Najib - all done. Nobody to argue how could the equation of 20.5% be equal of 10% exchange?

    Please all Malays either UMNO or else don't elect again this Dayus PM Najib. Think Muhyiddin is much more Malay loyal.....

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  103. Skilgannon10665:06 pm

    warrior xxx

    Do I hear the bitter angst behind your posting in the realisation that yet another emblem of supposed national pride and affirmative action was forced to go, cap in hand, to the government and ask for a bailout?

    After all, it's always been an article of faith amongst the cognoscenti that Malaysia Airlines should be run by someone who would embody the country's affirmative action programme. Just run through the list of MAS CEOs after Saw Huat Lye.

    Are you even seriously implying that MAS, from the time it was set up from the split-up of Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (at a time when your bete noire AirAsia was not in existence), was incapable of competing on an equal footing with it's erstwhile sibling Singapore Airlines?

    Even more so when Dr M pushed through the construction of the KL International Airport (KLIA) to be a regional air hub on par with Singapore's Changi Airport and Thailand's then Don Muang Airport. What happened to that particular game plan which was helmed by Malaysia Airports (also a poster child for affirmative action)?

    An under-performing KLIA does MAS no favours. And vice-versa. It's a tight little vicious cycle which the government exacerbated by a policy of benign neglect over a national aviation policy.

    All of which left Singapore's Changi Airport and SIA to lap up the cream that their Malaysian counterparts left so considerately on the plate in an act of overwhelmingly stupid charity!

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  104. Skilgannon10665:33 pm

    naseb melayu

    Kali an agent of a foreign power? Whoa, dude, how come he hasn't been arrested by now?

    Or why hasn't anyone stood up and said this openly in public? Or used Parliamentary privilege to make the claim?

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  105. Anonymous8:04 am

    Slilganon, people have raised this questions in parliament and in public domain.pls do your chks.



    Naseb Melayu

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  106. Anonymous9:23 am

    Meanwhile in other news...

    http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/putrajaya-directs-glcs-danaharta-to-drop-all-claims-against-tajuddin-ramli/

    "... the minister made no mention of the terms of settlement with Tajuddin."

    Stinks.

    How about doing some proper investigative journalism for once instead of spinning for your UMNO paymasters, Dato?

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  107. Mustapha Ong12:07 pm

    Dear Bru,

    This MAS/AirAsia is a very interesting topic and I am sure a lot of people already make their money over the shares which will still go up by at least another 100%.

    Thanks to our friend Tony although he himself is also laughing to the bank but Tony has proven his worth in the airline industry. If you don't believe me just fly AirAsia which i just did to HCMC last week, the whole LCCT is always full of AirAsia planes day and night.This is the testimony to AirAsia's growth in a short period of time. Again I take my hat off to Tony.

    I recall that MAS used to do exceptionally well under Saw Huat Lye and also Tan Sri Aziz but those were the good time when the airline industry was not that competitive. Then Idris Jala came on board and did some trimmings and numbers. It worked for a while but less than 3 years, things got screwed up again. I am not sure whether it's another bail out to save our national airline, only GOD knows.

    Hopefully, with a team team on board MAS will spring up together with AirAsia on ASEAN, Regional and international routes. Good we should teach SIA alesson and see how low their fares would go down further. Let's wait and see as Tony has given us the guarantee that AirAsia's fare will still remain as low as possible.

    ON AirAsia, I HAVE A MESSAGE FOR TONY AND HIS TEAM. I WAS EQUALLY DISAPPOINTED WITH SOME OF THE FOOD/SNACK SERVED ON AIRASIA DURING MY FLIGHT TO HCMC AND WE PAID FOR IT.A PIECE OF FROZEN PIZZA NOT WORTH MY MONEY, EVEN WHEN I ASKED THAT THE PIZZA SHOULD BE HOT OR REHEAT. IT CAME BACK TO ME SLIGHTLY WARM BUT TASTED LIKE A LEFT OVER BUN!!!!!

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  108. Tony Supporter12:17 am

    thanks 4 ur comment mr mustapa....actually MAS sucks...n almost depend to AIR asia...1 more ting....this is not the place to report about the food...if u wan report..directly cl them..*

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