7
REASONS WHY THE PRIME MINISTER SHOULD STEP IN NOW AND
FACILITATE
KHAZANAH TO REVERSE THE SHARE SWAP
BETWEEN
MAS AND AIR ASIA
1.
THE SHARE
SWAP EXERCISE WAS AN OBVIOUS CONFLICT OF INTEREST
AND
IF THE GOVERNMENT CANNOT SEE THAT, THEN WE HAVE SERIOUS GOVERNANCE ISSUES IN
OUR INSTITUTIONS OF INVESTMENT.
Most citizens and all that are
watching this fiasco know how seriously flawed the share swap deal is. For KHAZANAH
and the government to try to justify its merits, is taking the rakyat for being
fools and would further erode the confidence in the ruling government and its
ability to make the right decisions. This will really test the resolve of the
Prime Minister in making tough and correct decisions which would gain the respect of
the people and augur well for the country in terms of its ability to admit
wrongs and correct them.
2. MAS WAS ‘PROFITABLE’ FOR 4 YEARS IN A ROW FROM 2007 – 2010 AND
SO WAS AIR ASIA .
WHY DO YOU NEED TO DO A KNEE JERK SHARE SWAP JUST BECAUSE THE FY2011 RESULTS
WAS NOT POSITIVE?
The share swap was being done after
the announcement of a bad 1st half year results and was done in
haste to supposedly save MAS. What is ironic is that MAS had reported ‘profits’
from year 2007 – 2010 and therefore if we were to use the profitability angle,
why should KHAZANAH do this deal at all. The issue was of course of cash-flow
and if we think that Air Asia was good then we have not read their accounts
correctly. They too have cash-flow problems, if not now but in the very near
future so it was obvious that this deal was done with knee jerk reaction and
timed to take advantage of the reporting of bad results from MAS to undertake
the share swap. It looks very sinister and opportunistic.
3. IN ANY CORPORATE
EXERCISE, THE ONLY WAY TO HAVE A COMPETITOR ON YOUR BOARD IS IF THE COMPETITOR
PAYS MONEY TO ACQUIRE SHARES AND EITHER MERGES OR BUYS OVER A COMPANY VIA A
FRIENDLY OR HOSTILE TAKEOVER.
KHAZANAH
must be INSANE to think that to save MAS is to invite its ‘commercial enemy’ to
come on its Board and be privy to all its trade secrets and strategies in order
to help it.
In business you either fight to outdo your competitors or exit the business if
you cannot fight. Otherwise, in this case of MAS being a public listed company,
either a friendly or hostile takeover of the company is done via the acquiring
company mopping up shares from the stock market to a level where it can trigger
a general offer.
THIS
HAS TO BE DONE BY WAY OF BUYING UP SHARES OF A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE IN CASH AND
NEVER THROUGH A SHARE SWAP WHERE MANIPULATION AND COLLUSION CAN HAPPEN ESPECIALLY
IN THIS CASE WHEN THE ACQUIRER AND THE ACQUIREE GOT TOGETHER SECRETLY TO
NEGOTIATE A CORPORATE EXERCISE OF PUBLIC INTEREST.
Any
sane person can see this is an injustice and abuse of process so IF KHAZANAH DOES
NOT REVERSE THE SHARE SWAP, THE BIGGER IMPACT WILL BE THE POLITICAL AND
ECONOMIC RAMIFICATIONS TO THE GOVERNMENT FOR NOT UNDOING THIS BAD DEAL.
4. KHAZANAH HAS FAILED TO SAFEGUARD PUBLIC
INTEREST. IF THE AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPERS CAN ADMIT A MISTAKE ON PRINTING AN ERRONEOUS
REPORT, THAN FOR US TO BECOME A TRULY FIRST CLASS COUNTRY, KHAZANAH SHOULD
ADMIT ITS MISTAKE ON THE SHARE SWAP AND REVERSE IT.
KHAZANAH
has a duty to protect public funds and national net worth of the country. By
continuing to press on, KHAZANAH has failed its duty and charter to the people
who are relying on officers of the highest integrity to protect and enhance the
country’s net worth and assets.
If
the Australian press can admit their reporting mistakes and reverse or print a
retraction, there is nothing wrong with KHAZANAH ADMITTING ITS MISTAKE AND
REVERSING THE SHARE SWAP AND RETURNING THE ASSET TO THE PEOPLE OF MALAYSIA. By
not doing so, when there is clear evidence of questionable intent, action and
vested interest, shows we are moving towards being a banana republic where we
can justify anything that we do whether right or wrong.
5. KHAZANAH HAS CREATED A MAJOR INVESTMENT
BLUNDER BY A CREATING A PRECEDENCE WHERE A NATIONAL ASSET CAN BE COMPROMISED
AND IN ANY OTHER INCIDENT COMPROMISING A NATIONAL ASSET IS AN ACT OF TREASON.
What
KHAZANAH has done is to create a dangerous precedence where an entrepreneur can
acquire a national asset without having to put a single sen or RM on the table.
If this is the case, since there are many, for example oil and gas
entrepreneurs, can they come to the government and say that they want to swap
30% of their company for 10% of Petronas?
In
any other deal once an entity is classified as a national strategic asset, it
cannot be owned by individuals or entrepreneurs.
6. IT IS TIME
FOR THE COUNTRY TO APPOINT TRUE PROFESSIONALS TO RUN COMPANIES AND STOP THE ‘4TH
FLOOR BOYS MENTALITY’ AND RESTORE CORPORATE ORDER IN GLCS BY NOT HAVING ANYMORE
PARACHUTE CEOS AND YOUNG UPSTARTS RUNNING OUR NATIONAL ASSETS.
In
order for the country to progress, every sector of industry must be run by
professionals who have invested their time and energy to be the best in their
industry. They should be promoted within their industry where they obtained the
seat of power by garnering and earning the respect of their peers, staff and
industry watchers. True successful companies globally invest heavily on
succession planning to ensure the best from within them rises to the top to
lead their ‘troops’ into the ‘ commercial wars’.
We
have to stop parachuting individuals into so many GLC CEO positions that caused
a whole generation of professionals to be bypassed by this practise. Most if
not all of the current young upstarts come from either rich families or
‘academic’ background and have little appreciation of what happens in the
engine room of most industries. They will impose their ideas not through sound
and tested innovations, but by abusing the power of their positions as they
will hide their lack of knowledge through coercion. These parachute CEOs have
no track record in the industry.
IF THE GOVERNMENT
IS INTERESTED TO KNOW WHY THERE IS A BRAIN DRAIN IN THE COUNTRY, THIS IS A
MAJOR CAUSE OF IT, I.E. WHEN TRUE PROFESSIONALS CAN BE BYPASSED AND USURPED BY
OTHERS WHO DO NOT HAVE THE CREDENTIALS IN THEIR INDUSTRY.
7. KHAZANAH
SHOULD STOP MEDDLING IN OPERATIONAL COMPANIES WHEN THEY HAVE NO CLUE AND ARE
INCOMPETENT TO MAKE DECISIONS.
KHAZANAH needs to
stop making incompetent decisions, period. Meddling in operational issues when you
have already appointed a CEO whose day to day work is to eat and breathe the
company that they are leading is tantamount to undermining corporate hierarchy.
Should a change of strategy be needed then a change of CEOs would do the trick
but make sure you select someone from within the industry who would have no
excuse for underperforming if chosen.
What
is practised in global corporate operations is that they could have a diverse
BOARD OF DIRECTORS that are entrusted to serve the best interest of the company
and asking the right questions and sharing cross industry experience in order
to ensure check and balance on management actions and recommendations.
Undoubtedly one of the best articles about this issue, hope similar points was raised by our union leaders to Najib. He may use this issue to regain support just before GE (although too late to save MAS) or simply let Selangor remain a state for opposition. Either way, being status quo like his no-stand on COW project is not making him clean but COWard.
ReplyDeleteKunyit Hidup
25%.....just 25% is all they want......who cares about Union in mas...they can do nothing......
ReplyDeleteI think they want to get rid of unions in MAS and all its divisions. 1. Divides and rule!
ReplyDelete2. Staff jobs description a. b. c. dan lain-lain(until you die)
3. "If you are not happy with your work, just resigned!"
4. Syarikat rugi? Itu sahaja kah jawapan AJ, senangnya jadi CEO.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteThe upgrading of the maid and baby was also in breach of the following circular from the customer services division:
ReplyDeleteGEN-003-R01 dated 03-SEPT 2002.
clearly stated on pg2 is: “On no account shall EY pax be Double upgraded into FRCL”
PM planned the ccf to save CIMB and AA. (same ppl behind cimb and AA).
if AA go down then cimb also go down. (cimb manages the financing for AA, and AA is losing money and cannot pay for the 200 aircraft)
it is only a matter of time before AA and then cimb collapse.
now he and top management is keeping quite- very quite
we have to show our protest by our “votes” and our “life savings”!!!
to safeguard our life savings, we should all stop using the services of cimb and tell that to all our friends and relatives and to pass on the message to others.