After the three month disappearance of MH370, it is no wonder that the number of travelers opting for Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has plummeted. The national airline is currently in deep red for their financial performance. However this is hardly a new development as it has been struggling for the past three years with the worst recorded performance in the fourth quarter of 2011, a loss amounting to 1.28 billion ringgit.
It would seem like the employees of Malaysia Airlines have had enough and think it is time for a turnaround with their workers’ union calling for the resignation of three top executives.
Executive secretary of Malaysia Airlines System Employees Union (Maseu), Mohd Jabbarullah Abd Kadir is of the opinion that MAS is in need of a breath of fresh air in the form of new leaders in order to gain profitability again.
Masue is currently drafting a memorandum to present to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak upon his return from China next week. If rumours are to be believed, they would be calling for the resignation of CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, Director of Engineering Azhari Dahlan, and Director of Human Resources Zahrah Zaid. These rumours were birthed from Masue’s previous call of stepping down from these three individuals.
Further to that, the memorandum also contains a desperate plea to our Prime Minister to bail MAS before it sinks further into the red sea. Jabbarullah is quoted as saying that Putrajaya should wait not wait any longer for the national carrier to suffer further losses.
Also read: Does Malaysia Airlines instill confidence in its handling of MH370 incident?
According to the executive secretary, Malaysia Airlines has been constantly plagued with internal problems such as a high turnover rate on staff that left employment of MAS dissatisfied and in search of greener pastures. Jabbarullah alleges that over a hundred engineers and 36 junior engineers have deserted MAS in the past two years with an estimate of 20 crew members taking their exit each month.
He further cries that with employees unable to view a future in this company, our national carrier has degraded into nothing more than a fancy ‘training ground’ for other airlines.
Khazanah Nasional, which is the federal government’s investment arm, lost 443 million ringgit in the first quarter of 2014 from its substantial shares owned in MAS. This was the national carrier’s worst lost in the past five quarters.
Insisting that Malaysia Airlines should remain as one entity, the planned sales of its engineering unit was strongly opposed in a picket held on Monday by the union. While stating that the previous picket was legal, Jabbarullah declined any comments on whether there would be a repeat of the same or a strike in the future.
It would seem as if Masue is holding off on planning any pickets to see if the Malaysian government would lend their ears to MAS employees’ pleas.
However, this matter requires a delicate handle as Jabbarullah and the union he speaks for is aware that under the pressure of a crisis, it is of paramount importance that the country’s images is not jeopardized nor do they want their actions to further drag Malaysia Airlines’ name through proverbial mud.
Also read: Major Uproar on Controversial MH370 Movie and Books. Is it Too Soon?
