Off The Cuff - MAS: Khazanah always keeps its word

DAMNED if you do and damned if you don't. That seems to be the predicament Khazanah Nasional finds itself in when weighing how to compensate thousands of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) employees in the nation's ongoing biggest retrenchment exercise as the national carrier migrates to a new company known as MAS Bhd.
But one thing is certain – Khazanah Nasional, according to a top executive, has always kept its word about carrying out the lay-offs in a "compassionate and humane manner", rubbishing a newspaper report that the airline's owner had a "last minute change of heart" and those to be axed will be getting termination payments according to their collective agreements (CA) instead of half of what is spelt out in the CA.
The decision by Khazanah Nasional on the compensation to follow the CA is not something made on the spur of the moment, said the executive, refuting claims by the airline's unions that the decision was made following union pressure into giving enhanced compensation for staff leaving the current company now in the midst of being wound up.
The executive said news reports that attributed the humane decisions made by Khazanah Nasional to a last minute meeting with the unions are "not true".
"This is clearly a lie. It would seem to be a deceitful lie, trying to take credit when there was no such thing. Many people attended from all sides, including the other MAS unions and one can easily verify that the meeting was not adversarial at all, and instead, it was constructive," he said.
"These individuals quoted in various reports should come out clearly and responsibly to clarify the situation as there is important public interest involved, and especially for the staff of MAS who deserve to know the truth. The spirit and substance of the discussions was constructive and forward looking to rebuilding our national carrier. Trying to make personal self-interested points by these individuals during this difficult time is not the way we hope MAS will operate going forward."
MAS is scheduled to axe some 6,000 of its 20,000 employees in phases over the next one year following plans to shrink its operation into a small airline with regional rather than international focus. The remake into the new MAS entails the rehiring of two-thirds of its workforce to keep it on the path of recovery after years of massive losses.
As far as Khazanah Nasional is concerned, paying compensation according to the CA has been taken into account from the beginning when it allocated RM6 billion for the MAS restructuring, contrary to media reports that the decision was taken during the first meeting its new chief executive officer Christoph Mueller had with the unions after he came into office on May 1.
This is despite the fact that the MAS Act passed by Parliament in creating MAS Bhd does not compel Khazanah Nasional to recognise the CA of the old MAS.
As the executive put it: "Taking a humane approach is always the underlying value Khazanah Nasional adopts. This has always been our mantra, thus the compensation is in line with that."
Under the compensation package, those who lose their jobs will get a month's salary for every completed year of service (up to 10 years) and one-and-a-half-month's salary for every completed year of service for those above 10 years.
Single parents, husband-and-wife teams and those physically challenged will get an additional 30%.
Khazanah Nasional has also set up the Corporate Development Centre (CDC) to retrain the axed workers even though it is not obliged to do so.
Compare this with the case of 5,000 staff laid off by CIMB, the country's second largest bank, who were merely given compensation. This was the country's second largest layoff.
Against the backdrop of the realities facing MAS, with its future survival at stake if it doesn't bite the bullet, there is no room for sentiment. It is a do or die battle.
Statements like "MAS is in danger of losing its plot" coming from its highly respected former managing director Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman are not only irrelevant in the present context but won't help the airline in any way moving forward.
Sentiment is actually the last thing that MAS needs right now.
The airline industry now is almost a whole new ball game compared with the 1980s and early 1990s when Abdul Aziz helmed MAS and left the company with a RM5 billion cash reserve.
To begin with, there were no budget airlines then to compete with premium carriers like MAS, with our own home-grown AirAsia already emerging as the world's No. 1 low-cost carrier and giving MAS a run for its money.
Mueller was in Kuching on Wednesday where he met Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem for discussions on plans by Sarawak and Sabah to take over MASWings, the airline's rural air service subsidiary that provides a crucial means of transport for the two states, on a 50-50 shareholding.
He said MAS would hold a press conference on June 1 to announce details of the new MAS and the total number of staff to be retrenched.
"I can guarantee that it will be fair for everyone. Those not taken in will be given proper benefits. You can take my word for it," he assured.
Yes, at least 6,000 people are going to lose their jobs in a situation which one newspaper described as "anxiety is at its highest and morale lowest and it will be either tears of joy or anguish" as all 20,000 employees await with bated breath for that dreadful termination letter next week.
But what choice is there for MAS? This is definitely the final rescue plan for the airline that was once and perhaps still is, the pride of the nation.
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