How many years did Khazanah sleep on the huge debts owed by Alwafeer Air to MAS?

Thank you Khazanah for helping Alwafeer Air!

 By Yang Berhormat Wee Chee Keong, Ahli Parlimen Bukit Bintang


Updated: 02-09-2011  The beneficial owner of the three jumbo jets in question is Khazanah Nasional Bhd. They entrusted to MAS.  The silence from Khazanah Nasional Bhd over the Alwafeer Air’s debts and the issues arose from the secret MAS-AirAsia share swap are most deafening. 
MAS has leased three jumbo jets to Alwafeer Air, a Jeddah based charter airline,. It was part of the agreement that MAS seconded our pilots and stewardesses to it. Our Malaysian pilots and stewardesses were having problems in receiving their due salaries. I am told by informed sources that documentation for the leasing of the three aircrafts were incomplete and yet MAS delivered them to Alwafeer Air. Further, the three aircrafts were registered in Jeddah under Syariah law instead of Malaysian law. I am also told that MAS and Khazanah have been officially advised against this deal but it fell on deaf ears.

Huge sum of outstanding rentals have not been paid to MAS for years. What positive actions did Khazanah Nasional Bhd take to recover the rental and aircrafts? I believe nothing much because Khazanah was too busy in the hatching the “TOP SECRET” MAS-AirAsia share swap.  How do we expect MAS to do well when no positive actions were taken to recover huge debts from Alwafeer Air.
During the meeting with Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar and En Mohammed Rashdan Yusof and fellow bloggers over the said share swap, I did ask En Mohammed Rashdan Yusof about this outstanding debt. The answer was: “We are sending out letter of demand now”.  Why only now when this huge debt was outstanding for years and still continuing? This was how Khazanah genius trying to save MAS. What a joke!
First and foremost, what was the justification in leasing the three jumbo jets to Alwafeer Air?  Why such serious issues involving many millions of Ringgit and three jumbo jets not addressed by Khazanah for years? Khazanah top executives including YB Tan Sri Nor Mohammad Yacop must come clean to explain about the deal between MAS and Alwafeer Air.
It is high time that YAB Datuk Seri Najib’s government must commence an in-depth investigation into this serious matters involving Alwafeer Air with the objective of taking direct actions against the culprits in Khazanah and MAS for allowing this deal to go through without due diligence, proper documentation and, most of all, sleeping on the matters for years. Khazanah top officials and YB Tan Sri Nor Mohamad Yacop must take full responsibilities for this matter. Was it an outright case of negligence or something else?