KUALA LUMPUR: Former DAP MP Ong Kian Ming has addressed the criticism surrounding the resignation of 60 Malaysia Airlines maintenance workers who joined SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC), an aircraft maintenance firm owned by Singapore Airlines.
On Monday, a news portal reported that Perikatan Nasional's transport spokesman, Khairil Nizam Khirudin, demanded an explanation from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who also chairs Khazanah Nasional Bhd, on why SIAEC was allowed to operate in Malaysia.
In a LinkedIn post, Ong acknowledged that Malaysia Airlines' parent company, Malaysia Airlines Group, had not done enough to support its maintenance staff.
However, he questioned the focus on blaming the Prime Minister and Khazanah for permitting a reputable foreign-owned maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) company to enter the country and offer better compensation to local workers.
"I cannot 'brain' this," said Ong, who previously served as deputy international trade and industry minister.
Last December, SIAEC signed a 15-year lease for two hangars at Subang airport with Impeccable Vintage Properties Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Khazanah, which is also the shareholder of Malaysia Airlines.
Ong argued that the presence of more players, including foreign ones, in the Subang airport aerospace ecosystem would ultimately benefit Malaysian workers through higher wages and increased training opportunities.
He likened Khairil's remarks to suggesting that AirAsia or other non-Malaysian budget airlines should be barred from operating locally to protect the profitability of Malaysia Airlines or other domestic low-cost carriers.
"More to the point, should Khazanah not lease out its hangars in Subang to MRO players because they will compete with Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia for workers?
"If this is the case, then it defeats the purpose of trying to develop Subang into a regional aerospace hub," he said.
The news portal also quoted Asyraf Farique from the Iris Institute think tank, who argued that the presence of SIAEC not only disadvantaged Malaysia Airlines but also hindered the growth of the local aerospace industry.
He noted that Singapore is competing with Malaysia to become a regional aviation hub, and the government must carefully select investors to avoid undermining plans to rejuvenate Subang airport.
Ong pointed out that SIAEC has limited space to expand its MRO operations at Singapore's Changi Airport.
"With the right economic conditions and government policies, the expansion of SIAEC's MRO operations will be an important part of the rejuvenation of Subang airport for the aerospace industry, which is one of the main objectives of the Selangor Aerospace Action Plan 2020-2030," he said.