Previous Administration's Non-transparent Decisions Gave Opportunities For Cronies To Destroy Companies - PM Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim criticised the non-transparent decisions made by the previous administration which gave opportunities for several cronies to destroy a company, particularly companies that are the symbols and pride of the nation, such as Malaysia Airlines.

"Sometimes political decisions that lacked transparency gave opportunities to one, two cronies to destroy a company that is the pride of the nation.

"Due to these mistakes, the company remains a burden to us until today,” he said in his speech at the 30th anniversary celebration of Khazanah Nasional Bhd here, today.

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Anwar who is also the Finance Minister said the decisions were made with the intention of protecting the interests of a few cronies had sidelined the interests of the nation and the people.

However, the Prime Minister said that efforts to restore the national airline have been initiated by Khazanah Nasional. 

"I congratulate Khazanah. But it takes time. For the government, almost every week in the Cabinet meetings, we discuss recovery and reforms; how to help save the national institutions,” he added.

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Anwar said the government remains completely committed to ensuring the success of the airline because it is the national airline, and it has to come back to continue performing excellently.

Apart from that, he also praised other companies under the management of Khazanah Nasional which have achieved success abroad such as Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) which owns Istanbul Sabiha Göçken International Airport in Turkiye. 

"In my discussion with Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan, he expressed his confidence in MAHB’s ability to manage and operate the important airport in Istanbul. This shows the capabilities of companies under Khazanah’s management," he said.

Anwar said that in the post-normal era characterised by 'chaos, complexity, and contradictions,' Malaysia needs to drive a fresher and more immediate reform movement in line with the aspirations of the Madani Economy to continue progressing forward.

Therefore, it is important for Khazanah Nasional to shoulder this responsibility to support and drive reforms for the country's economy, he said. 

Earlier, aviation experts viewed that shortages in the supply chain, manpower and parts, as well as delays in aircraft delivery, have pushed the operations of Malaysia Airlines to its “breaking point”.

Independent analyst Brendan Sobie of independent aviation analysis and consulting firm Sobie Aviation, noted that it has been difficult to maintain operations given the ongoing constraints in the industry for the last couple of years.

“They (Malaysia Airlines) are not alone, but unfortunately, they have been impacted, particularly in the last few months more than others. Things escalated and reached the breaking point a couple of months ago, where they ran out of aircraft and parts,” he said in an interview with the CNBC news channel recently.

On Aug 24, Malaysia Aviation Group, which operates Malaysia Airlines, announced plans to reduce flights and routes between now and December 2024.

The decision comes in response to recent disruptions in their services, which affected Malaysia Airlines, Firefly, and Amal services during the week of Aug 19, 2024.

-- BERNAMA