Hot talks about selling the Malaysian Airlines (MAS) has resurfaced recently but with no concrete or affirmative response from the government of Malaysia. It is anticipated that such moves is inspired by the turnaround stories of Japan Airlines and Philippines Airlines which succeeded to make good profits after years in losses making.
Many of the industry experts opine that it was the right time for the government to let go MAS due to poor performance and continuous losses. However, as mentioned by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala, the selling price must be calibrated at the most reasonable price as the public money is involved.
The government ownership in MAS comprises of two main players which are Khazanah Nasional Berhad (69.37%@11.59 billion shares)) and Employee Provident Fund (EPF) account for 1.04% or 174.21 million shares.
But it is not all gloom and bleak pictures of the current MAS performance. Indeed, MAS did some improvements but the yields for every flights are not encouraging. The merits of privatisation of MAS must consider the impact that it may impose to the nearly 20,000 employees, the credibility of the buyers to improve MAS turnaround and the most appropriate price to sell. To date, MAS is valued at some RM5.26 billion.
