SHAH ALAM, 19 Feb: The Federal Government should stop issuing empty words claiming the national economy is now on the best path, when in reality, the value of the ringgit is plummeting.
The PAS Research Centre Director, Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, said that the low value of the ringgit has had significant impact on businesses involving foreign exchange, including Malaysia Airlines System (MAS).
He said that the small value of the ringgit has caused MAS to continuously register losses despite an increase of 36 percent in gross income, or RM254 million.
“For example, although MAS recorded an increase in passenger volume by 28 percent, they are still registering losses due to the small value of the Malaysian ringgit.
“We recognise that we cannot control competition from other airlines, we cannot control the cost of fuel, but we are actually able to strengthen the value of our ringgit.
“The government should and must do something,” he told Selangor Kini.
He was responding to the record of RM1.74 billion in losses by MAS over the past year; almost three times higher compared to the RM433 million in losses recorded in 2012.
Elaborating, Dr Dzulkefly said that apart from depending on the value of the ringgit, MAS can also take austerity measures and reduce leakages in its administration.
At the same time, he also asked an explanation from the central government on the actual profit per MAS passenger per kilometre.
“In 2011, the profit for each passenger per kilometre was RM0.23, it then dropped to RM0.13.
“Has the profit earned per passenger in this time’s report decreased,” asked Dzulkefly.
According to the report, for the 2013 financial year, MAS recorded a turnover of RM15.1 billion, a 10 percent increase from the RM13.8 billion in the previous year.
Until the end of 2013, the MAS group owns 148 aircrafts, including six of the world’s largest passenger aircraft; the Boeing A380.
