WEE CHOO KEONG
It must be noted that Fly Asian Express Sdn Bhd aka FAX then was incorporated on 19-5-2006. It goes without saying that on 1-8-2006 (three months after it was incorporated) FAX
was awarded to operate RAS as from 1-8-2006 for 2 years. At the same
time the Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s “poor step child”, MAS, had to continue
with technical assistance until 26-2-2007
after which FAX took total responsibility for the aircraft for RAS ,
both technically and operationally. The icing of the award of the RAS
was the subsidy of over RM60 million via lump sum payment granted to FAX from the Tun Abdullah’s Administration.
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| (The then Minister of Finance II under the Tun Abdullah's Administration, Tan Sri Nor Mohamad Yacop) |
The the two years contract was short lived and ended in less than a year
due to the pressures from the Sarawak and Sabah State Governments,
politicians and members of the public against the appalling poor service
of FAX. Naturally, the Khaznah’s “poor step child”, MAS, was dumped
with six un-airworthy aircraft and one being cannibalised for spare
parts. After July 2007 MAS had to spend RM35 millions of Rakyat money to make the seven aircraft airworthy again.
Despite such “COLOURFUL HISTORIES” of AirAsia Bhd and AirAsia X Sdn Bhd aka FAX,
which are on permanent record in Khazanah and MAS, Tan Sri Azman
Mokhtar and the whizz kid, En Mohammed Rashdan Yusof, saw it fit to
negotiate and enter into an agreement with Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Datuk
Kamarudin both of AirAsia Bhd and AirAsia X Sdn Bhd aka FAX to exchange
20.5 % of MAS share for 10% of AirAsia Bhd and most shocking of all Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar proudly announced that Khazanah has the option to purchase 10% of AirAsia X Sdn Bhd aka FAX, which now has foreign equity of 34.7% and losses of RM89.935 million in 2009, at an undetermined price.
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