What is the flight plan?
It seems like the Malaysian government is bent on thwarting the rise of its only true blue lassez-faire success story that impresses the world (not just the Malaysian book of records).
If I peep into the numbskulls of Malaysian policy makers I may just hear the little people whisper:
Let’s make Air Asia take unprofitable routes, let’s see what they can do better than MAS since they seem to be so good at it, but also let’s then make MAS offer cheap flights like Air Asia and see if the high flying fledgling can still survive. Hee hee hee…
MAS do not have the same cost structure as Air Asia. To offer cheap tickets surely cannot be sustainable in the long run. So surely the aim now is to kill the perceived competitor, no?
Low-fare airlines do not aim to compete directly with the normal carriers. Sure, they will take away some passengers who can afford to wait for delayed flights on a leisure trip. But it cannot replace the services and punctuality of the traditional carriers. The latter should focus on their core competitive advantage. So what if they might need to reduce flights. Isn’t it better to earn higher margins instead of greater revenue on paper thin profits (or in MAS’ case no profits)?
A Malaysian residing in Singapore sent me an email that jibes at the Malaysian Cabinet. Take a look below.
*SINGAPORE CABINET *
*PM Lee Hsien Loong
Cambridge University - First Class Honours (1974) * *Harvard University - Masters (1980) SM Goh Chok Tong University of Singapore - First Class Honours (1964) * *Williams College, USA - Masters (1967) MM Lee Kuan Yew Cambridge University - First Class Honours (1949) Minister for Law Prof. S Jayakumar University of Singapore - Bachelor of Law Honours (1963) * *Yale University - Masters (1966) Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng University of Singapore - Bachelor of Arts & Business Admin (1977) London Business School - Masters (1979) Minister for Foreign Affairs BG George Yeo Cambridge University - Double First Class Honours (1976) * *Harvard Business School - MBA w/Distinction (1985) Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang Cambridge University - First Class Honours w/ Distinction (1976) Harvard University - Masters (1986) Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean University of Manchester - First Class Honours (1976) * *Imperial College, London - Masters w/ Distinction (1977) Minister for Education Tharman Shanmugaratnam London School of Economics - Bachelor of Arts * *Cambridge University - Masters * *Harvard University - Masters
MALAYSIAN CABINET*
*PM Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi University of Malaya - Bachelor of Arts Honours: Islamic Studies (1964) Deputy PM Dato' Sri Najib Razak University of Nottingham - Bachelor of Arts Honours (1974) Minister of Foreign Affairs Syed Hamid Albar (can someone tell me his university?) - Bachelor of Arts Minister of Works Dato' Seri Samy Vellu (Education Unknown) Minister of International Trade & Industry Rafidah binti Aziz Universiti Malaya - Bachelor of Arts Honours Minister of Agriculture Muhyiddin Yassin (Education Unknown) Minister of Domestic Trade Shafie Apdal (Education Unknown) Minister of Education Hishammuddin Hussein (Education Unknown) Minister of Home Affairs Radzi bin Sheikh Ahmad LLB - UK **This is why Malaysia is desperate to get Khairy Jamaluddin up fast!!*
I have deleted some not so nice comments.
It should not always mean that paper qualification makes a smarter person than one without. But I guess in this case, the coefficient of correlation about touches 1. Same with the ability to make intelligent and sustainable policies.
