A Cessna light aircraft at the hangar of Systematic Aviation Services. The company lost its aviation permit in February last year. (SAS pic)
PETALING JAYA: Problems are piling up on the troubled general aviation company Systematic Aviation Services, which has failed to keep a promise to settle millions in debts, unpaid salaries, and statutory contributions by the end of February.
Another new deadline to settle unpaid debt looms later this month, as a result of a petition to wind up the company filed by a creditor.
Also hanging over the company is a bankruptcy application filed against the company’s directors by the EPF for the non-remittance of statutory deductions.
All this in addition to the cancellation of a government contract to service the police helicopter fleet, which has now been handed to an Ipoh-based company.
A letter from the government to the company shows that Ipoh-based Layang Layang Aerospace Sdn Bhd will now carry out maintenance on the police force’s nine Airbus AS355 helicopters. A company official confirmed this when contacted.
SAS has been told by the government to return all related documents and equipment and cooperate fully in the handover to Layang Layang.
A former staff member who spoke on behalf of the affected personnel said the company had not honoured a promise by the CEO Ida Adora Ismail in January that all dues would be settled by the end of February.
It was the second time the company had failed to keep its promise; the first was in December last year when Ida said all dues including EPF contributions and deductions would be settled by the end of the year. The amount, accumulated over several years, runs into several million ringgit.
The former staff member said checks with the EPF and Inland Revenue Board showed all dues were still outstanding.
“The recent 6.3% dividend announced by EPF last week broke our hearts as we cannot enjoy it. The range of EPF amounts not remitted is between RM50,000 and RM200,000 each. The figure is higher if we take into account the compounded dividends missed over the last few years,” he told FMT.
SAS, which has a licence to operate charter flights, operates a Cessna 206 and a fleet of helicopters, including 407GX and 505 Bell Helicopters, a Robinson R66, and a Eurocopter AS350. The company also provides maintenance services and training in aviation matters.
The company has not been able to resume air services since Feb 29 last year, when the Malaysian Aviation Commission did not renew its air services permit for failure to pay EPF contributions and scheduled tax deductions on their employees’ behalf.
As a result, the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia suspended the company’s air operator’s certificate, which subsequently lapsed.
Ida did not respond to FMT’s query on the complaints by the employees.
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