An open letter to MAS Chair Man

Dear MAS Chair Man,

(Let it be known that I am so pissed that I do not want to mention your name)

On Friday 16 March 2012, you said

“Do judge us on the results we deliver with our business plan, but please give the management team sufficient time to implement the business plan effectively,”

“Malaysia Airlines is a very sick patient, and its condition is quite critical. Indeed, there are a full range of prescriptions available. Judge us by the result, not by the choice of prescription”

Do recall that since 2001 when you were the Managing Director, you have FAILED to fix the "operational issues" in MAS as highlighted by the late Tan Sri Azizan in Berita MAS dated September 2001 and September 2003 and summarised below:

SEPT 2001

1.         TO REENGINEER THIS ENDANGERED COMPANY

2.         THE ORGANISATION STRUCTURE OF THE COMPANY IS FOUND TO BE NOT CONDUCIVE TO AN INTEGRATED APPROACH.

3.         REVIEWING AND IMPROVING THE PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES TO PLUG THE RAMPANT LEAKAGES AND STOP THE HAEMORRHAGE.

4.         BEHOLDEN ON US TO PROTECT IT FROM PREDATORS.

5.         PRESENT FRAGMENTED MAS IS NOT IN THE RIGHT STATE.

6.         MAS CULTURE IS DOMINATED BY A “SILO MENTALITY” RESULTING IN UNINTEGRATED AND UNCOORDINATED ACTIVITIES.

7.         FOSTERED ABUSE, PLUNDER OF THE COMPANY FOR PERSONAL GAINS, HIGH COST, INEFFICIENCY AND HAS DRIVEN THE COMPANY TO NEAR BANKCRUPTCY.

8.         DEDICATE OURSELVES TO CREATING A NEW CULTURE GROUNDED IN A FEELING OF COMMON RESPONSIBILITY, BASED ON ACCOUNTABILITY.

SEPT 2003

1.         TO ENSURE THAT FACTIONALISM FOSTERED BY THE CLAN CULTURE WOULD NOT BE AN OBSTACLE.

2.         ALWAYS STRIVE TO SUPPRESS ANY TENDENCY TOWARDS FACTIONALISM.

3.         THIS REQUIRES A CHANGE IN MINDSET AND A NEW CULTURE.

4.         WE HAVE TO PREVENT LEAKAGES AND WASTAGES.

5.         GOOD FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT IS ESSENTIAL FOR OUR SURVIVAL.

Currently the staff morale is very low and action should be taken to improve the situation quickly.  The new management has FAILED in the fundamental duty of any corporate initiative, which is to galvanize support and get the buy-in from the workforce. They have FAILED to realize that it takes a large workforce to successful run an airline business and therefore cannot be high handed in the approach to turnaround the company especially since MAS has a workforce of 20,000. It also contravenes the 1Malaysia aspiration of people first, performance now.

As the sentiment for the share swap and the CCF is negative, no amount of plans and implementation rolled out from Management from this point onwards will bring positive results as the productivity and loyalty to the programme is already flawed and damaged.

Therefore, the membership of the Board and the senior management must be examined and reconstituted with a view to rally the entire organization to common objectives for the good of MAS.  People with high integrity, the right knowledge, experience and with the national interest at heart, should provide the leadership of the organization as soon as possible.

There are many critical issues that need to be solved on an urgent basis.  The most pressing issue is the financial aspect.  The Chair Man of the company said that the company was very sick and needed urgent treatment, while the Managing Director also said that unless the financial situation was fixed fast, the company would be bankrupt soon.  It is therefore a serious situation and the government must now be involved in resolving the problem.

Despite acknowledgement of this serious situation, the management has spent unnecessarily on sponsorships, new livery and exorbitant consulting fees that bear no tangible benefit to MAS in the near term thus demonstrating incompetency of articulating short, medium and long terms strategies for the company.

It is also alarming to note that the management has been very quick to close down international routes on the pretext of unprofitability. They have FAILED to realize that the cost of starting and establishing international presence has a tangible, intangible, economic multiplier and strategic international value. Their decision to close purely on commercial considerations has major ramifications that are not quantified in the MAS books but will be felt in other areas of the revenue generation and strategic value for the country.

It should be noted that the current management is now actively engaged in negotiating the sale of assets in engineering, training etc.  It is important that the activities be suspended immediately otherwise it will be too late to take remedial measures.  The proposed formation of joint-venture companies relating to engineering, training etc. should also be suspended before it is too late.

Mastroubleshooters are ready to surface!


More clues here