In today’s edition of Evening 5 — MYAirline said that it is open to new owners, admits that the lack of a contingency plan led to the sudden suspension of operations. Meanwhile, KNM Group’s current chairman remains despite attempts to vote him out.
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00:00 [Music]
00:04 Cash-strapped low-cost carrier MyAirline's major shareholder, Datuk Alan Goh Hwan Hua,
00:09 is willing to relinquish all his shareholding in the airline,
00:12 according to Interim Accountable Executive Director Datuk Sri Azharuddin Abdul Rahman.
00:17 He told this to reporters at a press conference held today,
00:21 the first it's held since MyAirline abruptly suspended its operations last Thursday.
00:26 According to Azharuddin, MyAirline is actively exploring strategic partnerships
00:31 and have received several proposals which are currently going through detailed evaluation
00:36 and due diligence. When asked for a timeline if the airline were to shut down if negotiations fail,
00:42 Azharuddin said that the airline is positive that it will get back its licenses,
00:47 but didn't promise a timeline. MyAirline has also pledged to refund the 125,000 passengers
00:53 who had purchased tickets prior to the suspension, saying that it will be done
00:57 once it secures potential investors and gets new funding. Total refunds are estimated at
01:03 RM22 million based on ticket sales. Azharuddin acknowledged the airline's error and says that
01:09 they understand the frustration experienced by its passengers, especially those that were left
01:14 stranded at the airport, and admit there was a lack of contingencies due to the 11th hour pullout
01:21 by its investor. He also admitted to MyAirline's communication shortcomings with both the Malaysian
01:27 Aviation Commission and the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia, specifically its failure
01:32 to engage with authorities and passengers in a timelier manner before deciding to temporarily
01:38 suspend its operations. Likewise, Azharuddin said MyAirline staff will receive their prioritised
01:45 statutory payments and September salaries once a new investor is secured and funding is obtained.
01:50 MyAirline currently employs more than 900 people. He maintains that all employees remain
01:56 under employment and that no one has been placed on unpaid leave or terminated. When asked how much
02:02 the airline needs to pay back all salaries and refunds to restart its flight operations,
02:07 Azharuddin said millions. Meanwhile, the CAAM has suspended the air operator certificate of
02:13 MyAirline for 90 days from Monday, pending further investigations into the troubled airline.
02:19 Deputy Transport Minister Dato' Hazbi Habibola told Parliament today that the two-year extension
02:25 of the AOC by the CAAM was based on a technical audit carried out in May. An analysis was also
02:31 conducted by Mavcom as recently as October 3, during which MyAirline did not show signs
02:37 of financial issues that warranted the suspension of its operations, according to Hazbi.
02:48 Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Tunku Datuk Sri Zafral Abdul Aziz has assured
02:52 that there will be no changes in the prices of products in the industry sector when the sales
02:58 and service tax is raised next year from 6% to 8%, but adds that the ministry will continue to
03:04 monitor the impact of the implementation on the sector. Zafral said the government has a fiscal
03:10 responsibility to increase its revenue and that it is important for the industry to understand
03:15 why Putrajaya is taking such a decision. The government is expecting an additional revenue
03:20 of RM3 billion from the increase in SST, according to reports. Aside from the higher rate, the scope
03:27 of the SST will also be widened to include logistics services, brokerage and underwriting,
03:32 as well as karoke, while F&B and telecommunications are excluded. He was talking to reporters at the
03:38 sidelines of the roundtable dialogue discussing the new Industrial Master Plan 2030 hosted by MIDF.
03:45 On NIMP 2030, Zafral said MITI is working to get as many local industries as possible to participate
03:53 in the national strategic direction in order for the companies to reap the benefits of the spillover effects.
04:04 Following KNM Group's EGM today, the group's chairman, Tunku Dato' Yaakob Khaira, has won the
04:09 majority support of shareholders to continue with his leadership and deliver on his turnaround
04:15 strategy. In a statement, Tunku Yaakob thanked all shareholders for their confidence, trust and
04:20 continued support. He said that the board is heartened by the support from shareholders and
04:25 wishes to inform them that the board remains fully committed in their efforts to ensure their targets
04:31 of debt settlement within nine months through a partial IPO of Borsig, which he says in turn will
04:36 ensure a profitable and sustainable future for KNM. Notably, he holds a 9.5% indirect stake in the group.
04:45 To recap, German businessman Andreas Hischen, along with parties acting in concert, are attempting to
04:50 oust the entire board, including Tunku Yaakob. Meanwhile, Johor Princess Tunku Kemaria Amina
04:56 Maimuna Iskandaria Sultan Iskandar, who together with Hischen and the group that were aiming for
05:01 a management takeover of KNM, has come out to denounce the results of the EGM. In a statement,
05:07 Tunku Kemaria said her group will be calling for an investigation over alleged possible irregularities
05:13 in the vote count.
05:14 The federal court has dismissed appeals by ex-PM Dato' Sri Najib Razak and his son,
05:24 Dato' Nazifuddin Najib, against summary judgments compelling the duo to pay $1.69 billion and $37.64
05:31 million in tax arrears. Reading out the unanimous decision by the Apex Court's five-judge bench,
05:37 Judge Tan Sri Nalini Pathamanathan said they upheld the Court of Appeal and High Court's
05:42 decision which ruled that they must pay the amounts owed to the government. She said that
05:47 father and son were not treated unfairly and the judgments compelling them to pay the taxes do not
05:52 contravene Article 8 of the federal constitution which states that all persons are equal before
05:57 the law and entitled to equal protection and Article 5(1) which states that no person shall
06:03 be deprived of his life or personal liberty save in accordance with law. The judge added that the
06:09 collection of tax is done in the same manner for all citizens of the nation. She says that the duo
06:15 have not been singled out for discriminatory treatment nor treated in a manner not provided
06:20 for in the Income Tax Act 1967. She adds that there is no evidential basis on record to support
06:27 such a contention. The bench then dismissed the appeal with no order as to costs.
06:31 The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has taken two law firms to court in order to compel
06:42 them to produce documents linked to a settlement agreement between Goldman Sachs and Ambank in
06:47 relation to the 1MDB scandal. The anti-graft body had filed two separate applications,
06:53 one against lawyer Rosli Dalan and his firm Rosli Dalan Saravanan and lawyer Chetan Jathwani and
06:59 his firm Chetan Jathwani and Company and other respondents. In its application dated October 11th,
07:05 the MACC said that it was seeking the documents under the firm's custody, care and control to aid
07:11 in the agency's investigations on allegations that Rosli and Chetan were involved in bribery and
07:17 money laundering regarding Goldman Sachs' US$3.9 billion and Ambank's RM2.83 billion settlement
07:24 with the Malaysian government over 1MDB. The MACC also said that, among others, the documents were
07:31 needed to determine if the respondents had colluded with the Wall Street Bank and others in reducing
07:36 the compensation amount or asset recovery in the Goldman Sachs settlement and to identify
07:41 the money flow and layering from the bank's account to accounts of the firms. According
07:46 to court documents seen by The Edge, the MACC said that it faced obstacles in obtaining the documents.
07:52 The application against Chetan and his firm came up for case management in the High Court on Monday.
07:58 In an affidavit, Chetan noted the application and the allegations in the investigations were
08:03 wholly false and without basis. Meanwhile, when contacted, Rosli said he had yet to be served with
08:08 the papers as he is currently not in the country. The application against Rosli and his firm comes
08:14 up on Tuesday.