Tony: The truth hurts!

Tan Sri Md Nor Md Yusof & Tan Sri Tony Fernandes smiling away!

Yang Berhormat Wee Choo Keong

Dear Tan Sri Tony Fernandes,

I was surprised to learn that you found my posting disgraceful. Regrettably the truth hurts!

It was not true that AirAsia or Fly Asian Express Sdn Bhd aka FAX and now known as AirAsia X Sdn Bhd have been OPEN about the issues concerning RAS or any other issues concerning your AirAsia (AA) outfits. Initially, I was under the impression that the subsidy that FAX received from the Badawi’s Administration was only RM65 million and this figure has been quoted in my earlier postings and questions to MOT in Parliament.  But you and your AA outfits have never uttered a word that the actual subsidy was almost RM250 millions and that AirAsia X Sdn Bhd had to give up RAS due to extremely poor service and too many complaints received from the Sabah and Sarawak State Governments and other authorities.

It was not the previous Ministers of Transport namely, YB Datuk Chan Kong Choy and YB Datuk Ong Tee Keat but the current Minister of Transport, YB Datuk Kong Cho Ha through his Deputy that confirmed the subsidy granted was in fact almost RM250 millions and that the services provided by AirAsia X Sdn Bhd was not up to mark at all.

Until now you or your AA outfits have not confirmed receiving the subsidy of almost RM250 millions from the Badawi’s Administration. But you have been quoted to have said that you have received very little help from the Badawi’s Administration and that you only got helps from Tun Dr Mahathir and the current PM, YAB Datuk Seri Najib.

You have such a “Great” business model and have been making “HUGE” profits for years, then why you and/or your AA outfits had to rely so heavily on Government helps? It just boggled the minds of the rakyat!

Let’s not waste time with the invitation to your great AA outfits as it will not change the situation the least unless and until you provide acceptable answers to the points raised in the “Old Man”, other comments by other readers and the questions posed by me as follows:

What Tan Sri Tony Fernandes should also clarify:

1. Whether you and/or your AA outfits are prepared to make public the details of the audited accounts of the RAS carried out by Fly Asian Express Sdn Bhd aka FAX, which was terminated prematurely?  

2. During Fly Asian Express Sdn Bhd aka FAX operations of Rural Air Services (RAS), how FAX cannibalised an aircraft for spare parts and 6 aircraft grounded due to un-airworthiness?

3. Did FAX/AirAsia X Sdn Bhd pay MAS RM35 millions for the refurbishing costs incurred to make the aircraft airworthy again?

4. The poor RAS provided by FAX;

5. Why was there any necessity for AirAsia Bhd to sub-contract the RAS to FAX?

6. Why FAX had to dump RAS back to MAS in 2007?

7. Why soon after dumping RAS to MAS FAX had to change its name to AirAsia X Sdn Bhd

8. How he and/or Air Asia X Sdn Bhd persuaded Badawi’s Administration to grant Air Asia X Sdn Bhd the Air Operation Certificate (AOC) when it was just incorporated for only 2 months?

9. Having charted bad poor records under RAS, how he and/or AirAsia X Sdn Bhd “persuaded” the Badawi’s Administration to keep its AOC when it should have been withdrawn because of such bad track record? 

10. Thereafter, how he and/or AirAsia X Sdn Bhd was awarded with 32 international routes like London, Paris, Gold Coast, Melbourne and etc by the Badawi’s Administration and to operate 13 routes which routes were in competition with MAS?

11. Last but not least, how much did AirAsia Bhd or AirAsia X Sdn Bhd actually charged and received for RAS from the Badawi’s Administration, which Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has been quoted to have said that “AirAsia received little help from the Badawi’s Administration and to provide the detailed costing?

Please take note that when I have more time to spare, I shall post more questions about your AA outfits especially AirAsia X Sdn Bhd formerly known as Fly Asian Express Sdn Bhd aka FAX and of course, the secret MAS – AirAsia share swap and the so-called “Collaborative Frameworks”.

Just in case, you have not read the other postings in this Blog, your good friend, Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, the MD of Khazanah Nasional Bhd, when asked about Khazanah’s option to purchase the 10% AirAsia X Sdn Bhd under the said secret share swap, he told the bloggers on 16-8-2011 at the Hilton Hotel that “it was a DODGY deal”.  Despite his said respond, Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar instructed investment banker Stanley Morgan to carry out a valuation exercise on AirAsia X Sdn Bhd.  What is your take on the said DODGY DEAL, Tan Sri?