PETALING JAYA: Former DAP MP Ong Kian Ming has slammed criticisms that ensued after 60 Malaysia Airlines maintenance workers resigned and joined SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC), an aircraft maintenance firm owned by Singapore Airlines.
Yesterday, a news portal reported that Perikatan Nasional’s transport portfolio spokesman, Khairil Nizam Khirudin, had demanded Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is also the Khazanah Nasional Bhd chairman, to explain the move to allow SIAEC to operate locally.
Ong said there is no doubt that Malaysia Airlines’ parent company, Malaysia Airlines Group, had “dropped the ball” when it came to taking good care of its servicing and maintenance staff.
“But to put the focus on the prime minister and on Khazanah for the entry of a reputable foreign owned maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) player into the country and offering better compensation packages to many local workers? I cannot ‘brain’ this,” the former deputy trade minister said in a LinkedIn post.
The Singapore company had in December taken a 15-year lease for two hangars at Subang airport with a subsidiary of Khazanah, the shareholder of Malaysia Airlines.
Ong said that with more players, including foreign ones, joining and investing in the Subang airport aerospace ecosystem, Malaysian workers will benefit from higher wages and more training opportunities.
He also said Khairil’s remarks were akin to saying that AirAsia or any non-Malaysian budget airline should not be allowed to operate locally as it would pose a threat to the profitability of Malaysia Airlines or other local low-cost carriers.
“More to the point, should Khazanah not lease out its hangars in Subang to MRO players because they will compete with Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia for workers?
“If this is the case, then it defeats the purpose of trying to develop Subang into a regional aerospace hub,” he said.
The news portal also quoted Asyraf Farique of think tank Iris Institute as saying the presence of SIAEC not only put Malaysia Airlines at a disadvantage, but also hindered plans to develop the local aerospace industry.
Asyraf said Singapore was competing with Malaysia to become a regional aviation hub and the government must be careful in choosing investors so as not to undermine the plan to rejuvenate Subang airport.
Ong said the reality was that there is limited space for SIAEC to grow its MRO operations in Changi, Singapore.
“With the right economic conditions and government policies, the expansion of SIAEC’s MRO operations will be an important part of the rejuvenation of Subang airport for the aerospace industry, which is one of the main objectives of the Selangor Aerospace Action Plan 2020-2030,” he said.
