KUALA LUMPUR: Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook has refuted allegations that the merger of the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) and the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) is intended to ease the sale of Malaysia Airport Holding Bhd (MAHB) shares.
The minister said MAVCOM’s powers will remain unchanged until its dissolution, which is expected to occur six to nine months after the passing of the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Dissolution) Bill 2024 and the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (Amendment) Bill 2024.
Loke added that the sale of the MAHB shares is expected to be completed in six months.
“The (sales) process still needs to go through MAVCOM, and (its approval) will be determined by the commission’s current members. Therefore, there is no hidden agenda. The MAVCOM-CAAM merger is unrelated to MAHB.
“If MAVCOM disagrees, the sale of shares will not proceed. Thus, it is wrong to say the decision (on the MAVCOM-CAAM merger) will help ease the approval of the MAHB shares sale,” he said when winding up the second reading of the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Dissolution) Bill 2024 in the Dewan Rakyat, today.
Loke emphasised that the policy decision on the MAVCOM-CAAM merger was agreed upon in 2019 and is not a recent decision.
The minister said that the merger, MAVCOM, will be dissolved and its functions absorbed by CAAM, which will become the sole authority on the national civil aviation industry.
During the tabling of the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Dissolution) Bill 2024, several Parliamentarians called on the government to postpone the merger so that the matter could be referred to a special committee.
They also urged the government to seek alternatives to MAVCOM’s dissolution as the independent aviation commission responsible for regulating all commercial and economic aspects of the country’s civil aviation industry and protecting the rights of the industry’s users and customers.
The second reading of the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Dissolution) Bill 2024, tabled by Loke, was passed via bloc vote, with 93 in favour, 63 against, and 63 absent.
The bill, also tabled by the minister, was then unanimously passed by a yea vote after it was read by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul.
