KUCHING: The proposed majority takeover of shares in MASwings by Sarawak and Sabah from Khazanah Nasional Bhd must not be seen as a move to create another airline.
Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg disclosed that negotiations were still ongoing between both state governments and Khazanah, the parent holding of Malaysia Airlines.
MASwings is a community carrier under Malaysia Airlines, servicing mainly rural routes across the state and Sabah.
On the proposed exercise, Abang Johari said should it be successful, MASwings could go regional with the introduction of more routes based on marketability.
Adding on, he said it would be very difficult to plan new routes and increase air connectivity to the state without holding the majority of the equity in MASwings.
“We’re not stupid to set up another airline – we’re merely acquiring an existing one.
“We are using the AirAsia model in terms of acquisition. AirAsia was previously a postal service (provider).
“If (the) owner Tan Sri Tony Fernandes could turn around AirAsia, we could too. To say that we want to create another airline, is like saying we did not do our homework beforehand,” he said this during a press conference yesterday.
On a related subject, Abang Johari thanked the federal government for the exemption of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on domestic air transportation for economy class passengers plying the Rural Air Services (RAS) routes.
Meanwhile, the minister pointed out that it would be tough for Sarawak to reach its five-million target in tourist arrivals this year, due to the haze that had been going on since September.
According to ministry’s data, the number of tourists arriving here as of August this year was 3.1 million, with the majority of them coming from Asian countries like Brunei, Indonesia and China, and also from European nations such as Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
Last year’s corresponding figure was 4.8 million.