MAS plan on track amid new challenges

The issue of Jerusalem later brought the negotiations down.

Trump must have misread the Muslim and Arab sentiment.

The huge protest that took place on Friday in the heart of Putrajaya, joined by tens of thousands of people and similar protests elsewhere, was an example of deep Muslim anger at his pro-Israeli stance.

In a show of unity, the rally was joined by Pas and opposition figures and members as well as Muslim non-governmental organisations and some Christian groups. Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang was unwell and he was represented by his son, Mohamed Khalil Abdul Hadi, who also addressed the rally.

In his speech, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak made it clear that although Malaysia enjoyed close ties with Washington, he would not compromise his principle as a Muslim on the Palestinian cause.

He said he would not budge from championing the cause, “even if it means cutting me up into pieces”.

He said Malaysia would not beg for or solicit US aid.

The nine countries voting “no” were the US, Israel, Guatemala, Honduras, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, the Marshall Islands and Togo. Among the notable abstentions were Australia, Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic and Mexico.

The absent countries included Kenya, which was the fifth-largest recipient of US aid last year, and Georgia and Ukraine, both of which have close US ties.

Izham Ismail readily admits that the pressure on him to turn around Malaysia Airlines is very intense.

The new MAS CEO, holding one of the toughest corporate jobs in the country, is trying to stabilise the ship before making the airline profitable again and on a par with regional leaders.

This means diligently keeping the five-year MAS turnaround plan 2014

(the 12-point MAS Recovery Plan or MRP

2014) on track.

But Izham is facing new challenges, too, notwithstanding the multiple changes of

CEOs since last year.

The revamp plan had called for the new

MAS to return to profitability within three years of delisting, and to relist within three to five years, that is between the end of 2017 and the end of 2019.

“MAS needs to revamp but the parameters have changed,” he told editors at a briefing last week. “The competition has become more intense.”

Izham was mostly on his feet during the two-hour briefing, which was impressive and substantive. He fielded most of the questions and he was open and frank.

At least there is one thing going in Izham’s favour. The 57-year-old man, who came from a poor family in Alor Star and who took up flying to take care of his family, knows MAS like the back of his hand.

As Izham put it, he may be the new kid on the block and may not be the smartest kid. “But I have a heart of rock.”

After all, he has been with the airline for 38 years and has been in 18 positions in the company, including as COO.

He is experienced in operating all of MAS’ aircraft, from the Fokker 27 to the Boeing 747.

The home-grown talent is unlike some of his predecessors, who came from non-airline industries or are foreigners.

The only drawback: he might have been in the company for too long and is too familiar with the staff. Managing people and getting them to change their mindset, he says, will be his main challenge.

Khazanah Nasional had put in place the turnaround plan after MAS suffered the devastating MH370 and MH17 tragedies in 2014.

The restructuring of MAS hit snags when it lost its first foreign CEO Christoph Mueller, who left in mid-2016 after just a year on the job. Peter Bellew, who was MAS COO, then replaced Mueller. Bellew, however, left for Ryanair a few months ago.

Izham’s immediate tasks will be to develop a more regionally-focused network, lower cost structure and raise revenue and yield.

In the medium to longer term, MAS aspires to be a premium, profitable Asia-Pacific carrier offering the best of Malaysian hospitality with a dynamic network connecting the growth areas in China, India and Indonesia.

MAS also needs to renew its fleet, improve user experience and add at least three to four destinations a year to support its growth plans.

The market and its rivals may have low expectations of Izham and his team for now. But if things go really well, we can expect some nice surprises.