Shocks at home and abroad

Strange and shocking things happened in Malaysia and the US in the past fortnight.


Who would have guessed that Malaysia Airlines (MAS) would become friendly with AirAsia after years of trading barbs? It would be almost impossible to believe if anyone had said a few months ago that AirAsia would own part of MAS.

But that's the reality. Khazanah Nasional Bhd felt that MAS is in dire need of new direction and new leadership after first, that WAU thingy and later BTP, did not produce enough magic to make it fly high again.

Hence, the golden touch of AirAsia owner Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, together with a few others, was sought. Fernandes in particular was roped in as a new board member and, more importantly, a key shareholder of MAS when the national carrier was at its historical low and AirAsia at its historical high.

Now that the reality has sunk in, let us hope that the intention and new efforts (read Comprehensive Collaboration Framework) to rebuild MAS to its former glory are genuine.

Let's hope and pray that MAS is not being used as a corporate tool by some people for their own benefits and agenda. After all, MAS is a national company, which means all Malaysians are its stakeholders, have an interest and a say in it too.

Let us also hope and pray that AirAsia's massive expansion is not at the expense of MAS and vice- versa, as we want both airlines to equally grow and become major global players.

No one wants to see MAS' own big fleet expansion become a burden to it and its sister company AirAsia. Hopefully, speculation that some people had made handsome commissions from previous aircraft procurement was merely, hmmm, speculation.

Let's hope and pray that the new MAS blueprint will not affect its 19,000 strong staff negatively. No one wants to see jobs get culled unnecessarily.

Finally, let us hope and pray that the new MAS roadmap and friendship with AirAsia will not take away our privilege to fly at affordable rates that we have enjoyed for the past few years. Competition has put consumers at a winning end.

What occurred in the US late last week was equally shocking, and unprecedented.

Who would have thought that the world's mightiest economic superpower would be downgraded by its own rating agency?

Standard & Poor's down rated the US economy because of the political chicanery that took the US government to the brink of bankruptcy, and not because the country may not be able to pay its massive US$14 trillion (RM42 trillion) debt.

"The downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenge," S&P's said.

Consequentially, stock markets worldwide tumbled.

A friend was fazed with the impact caused by the US downgrade on the investing community. He asked whether ordinary, non-investing public would be affected as well.

The answer is yes, and it's just a matter of time before we find things getting tougher and goods more expensive.

The US economy has indeed weakened and there is a real threat that it will plunge into a new recession, which will almost likely cause economic and financial hardship worldwide.

Let's hope and pray that we brace ourselves to face the troubling times.