Biro Ekonomi Pemuda PBB harap Sir Tony Fernandez menjawab keresahan rakyat, industri pelancongan dan kerajaan Sarawak

Bureau urges AirAsia boss to open up

Borneo Post October 4, 2011, Tuesday

KUCHING: PBB Youth Economic Bureau is urging AirAsia chief Tan Sri Tony Fernandez to clear the air concerning his plans for Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia and Firefly.

Its chief Abdul Aziz Adenan said he had written to Fernandez some time ago on this matter but neither he nor the bureau had received any reply as yet.
“If I, or the PBB Youth Economic Bureau, is too small for Tan Sri Tony Fernandez to reply, then hopefully he may answer the concerns highlighted by our former assistant minister of tourism or the Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker,” said Aziz to The Borneo Post yesterday.
Recently, former Assistant Minister of Tourism Datuk Mong Dagang, who is now Assistant Minister of Agriculture, and Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar expressed their concerns about the MAS-AirAsia share swap and the possibility of Firefly closing shop.
Mong, among other things, said that a monopoly in the country’s aviation sector would burden the people, especially those from the low income group.
“I too believe that this will not only involve the tourism industry but also the low income people of Sarawak. I am worried that if the Firefly flights to and from Sarawak are stopped, it will provide a monopoly for AirAsia in the low-cost airline sector,” Aziz said.
Relating his own experience, Aziz said recently he tried to buy Firefly tickets for a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching but was told by the staff that they had been given instructions “from top management” not to sell them.
“Either Firefly staff do not know the concept of business, which is to sell as many tickets as possible, or Tan Sri Tony Fernandez had influenced MAS management to close Firefly silently,” he said.