MAS Act not tackling real issues’ - trade union blasts M'sian govt

 See earlier post: Now 37 groups have endorsed this statement Malaysian Airlines(MAS) Employees and Trade Union Rights at risk by new law being rushed through

 

MAS Act not tackling real issues’ - trade union blasts M'sian govt

PETALING JAYA - Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has blasted the new Malaysian Airline System Bhd Act (MAS Act) which it said specifically targets the employees of the national carrier and have not addressed issues of lopsided contracts and mismanagement head on.

MTUC's Sarawak division secretary Andrew Lo pointed out that the MAS Act will take away hard earned retirement and termination benefits as well as bring the end of existing trade unions and associations representing the employees of MAS.

"Worse, it will tear up the existing collective agreement (CA) that was agreed upon between the unions and MAS," he said in a statement yesterday.

Under the MAS Act, he noted, that the new entity, Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB), will not be responsible for any monies due to employees, including termination benefits of at least 6,000 who will lose their jobs.

Lo warned that all 20,000 employees of MAS will naturally be terminated when the present entity cease to exist.

"It is expected that the new MAB will employ most of these, (except the 6000) MAS employees.

However, the terms and conditions will be entirely at the discretion of MAB," he said.

MAB will also pick and choose which employees and union leaders from MAS that it wants.

Lo said the employees who are terminated will also most likely not be able to recover retrenchment or termination benefits provided for in law as MAS's asset will be transferred to the new MAB.

"This is where it is most discriminatory and unfair as the Act allows for liabilities due to other creditors including those lopsided contracts be transferred to the new MAB. It is unacceptable to deny lower ranked employees their basic and minimal rights," he said.

Lo added that the creditors are further protected, as the Act requires MAB to appoint an independent advisor to review any re-negotiation of contracts.

"The independent advisor may take into consideration the interests of the (lopsided) creditors," he said.

"By targeting specifically the employees and trade unions, the government is barking up the wrong tree. Until the issue of mismanagement is addressed head on, any restructuring is unlikely to succeed." -Sundaily

Full article: http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=413671:%E2%80%98mas-act-not-tackling-real-issues%E2%80%99-trade-union-blasts-msian-govt&Itemid=3#ixzz3LUGHGGeK

 

In MAS revamp, crew union fears members, families left out in the cold

Published: December 5, 2014 09:34 AM(Malay Mail)

Nufam said the MAS restructuring will affect over 6,000 of the airline's employees and an estimated 30,000 families. — Picture by Saw Siow Feng KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 5 ― Expecting widespread layoffs in the impending shake-up of Malaysia Airlines (MAS), one of the airline's staff unions has urged owner Khazanah Nasional Berhad to assure its members that their interests will be protected.

In a statement here, the National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam) said the MAS restructuring will affect over 6,000 of the airline's employees and an estimated 30,000 families.

"So how does Khazanah Nasional intend to help the families of those MAS staff members affected?

"The lower income employees in MAS have been dependant on basic medical benefits and their income to sustain their livelihood all these years... they have been supported by company's insurance and medical benefits but soon, all these will be gone.

"So how will they sustain these burdens if Khazanah Nasional were to lay them off completely?"

Nufam secretary-general Mohd Akram Osman asked in the statement.

Sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional, which has nearly 70 per cent stake in MAS, plans to turn around the ailing flag carrier by trimming the labour force of some 20,000 workers to just 14,000, according to the plan announced on August 29 this year.

The national carrier was delisted in August after the fund offered to buy out its minority share for a total of RM1.38 billion to restructure MAS, which suffered two major aviation disasters this year, MH370 and MH17.

The total takeover is to cost Khazanah Nasional some RM6 billion.

Khazanah Nasional's 12-point turnaround plan for the national carrier, titled "Rebuilding A National Icon – The MAS Recovery Plan", also includes transferring all MAS assets to a new entity tentatively known as “MAS Baru” or “new MAS”.

Nufam said the airline should offer its employees options to leave voluntarily or be compensated in a deal based on their number of years in service.

The layoffs should be done in stages, the union added, and the airline management should clearly spell out its criteria in the selection process when absorbing old staff members into the newly-formed MAS entity.

Mohd Akram claimed that in a "turun padang" session with airline crew members, the management had failed to answer a number of questions, including on the selection criteria, and merely said that the employees would be picked based on "merit".

"What merits are they talking? These staff have been with MAS for more than 10 years and isn't that already proven of their loyalty with the company?

"We dread to see the job alternative plans given to them will match of what they have been getting as it may not be sufficient enough to cover their monthly expenses," he said.

He added that with the newly-proposed MAS Act coming into force soon, time is running out for the airline's employees.

"We urge Khazanah and the Ministry of Human Resources to mediate these issues and create a more holistic approach with the union and our cabin crew staffs who will be affected by the restructuring exercise," Mohd Akram said, adding that Nufam will be available at anytime to discuss the issue.

The MAS Act tabled in Parliament last week proposes that a new entity called Malaysia Airlines Berhad be set up to replace Malaysian Airline System Berhad.

Its draft also suggests special laws for the administration of the airlines and all subsidiaries in addition to stricter rules regulating airline unions.

While tabling the Act, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Abdul Wahid Omar said that all matters to be discussed and negotiated between Malaysia Airlines Berhad and unions will be by way of meetings.

The proposed bill also stated that resourcing and allocation of resources, assessment of employees, leave entitlement, working hours and scheduling of work, including flight time limitation and flight duty periods will be determined by the new entity.

Apart from Nufam, other unions representing MAS workers are the Malaysia Airlines System Employees Union (Maseu), Malaysia Airlines Employees Union Peninsular Malaysia, and the Malaysia Airlines Pilot Association.

Flight MH17 was shot down in Ukraine in July, four months after flight MH370, en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur vanished mid-air in March. The latter has yet to be found.

However, even before the mysterious disappearance, the carrier had racked up RM4.13 billion in losses over three years.

- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/in-mas-revamp-crew-union-fears-members-families-left-out-in-the-cold#sthash.jmxPmQtF.dpuf

Group of 24 wants MAS Bill scrapped (FMT)

Group of 24 wants MAS Bill scrapped
Suresh Kashuerin

| December 3, 2014

The fear is that MAB, the new company, is a “union-busting” exercise and will not employ all MAS employees once the latter ceases to exist.

KUALA LUMPUR: Twenty four organisations, groups and trade unions have called in a joint statement for the new MAS Bill to be scrapped. The statement described the Bill as a “union-busting exercise” which MPs did not have enough time to consider and is now already in Senate.

The Group of 24, represented by Charles Hector, Mohd Roszeli bin Majid and Pranom Somwong, demanded in the statement that the Government take immediate steps to implement three steps which they have formulated.

For starters, they want the immediate suspension of the process of making the Malaysian Airline System Berhad (Administration) Bill 2014 into law, or the putting into force of this Act, until all matters concerning the rights, future employment security, well-being and livelihood of the about 20,000 employees of MAS and their family is resolved and provided for.

“The future of the existing employee trade unions and rights must also be resolved,” said the trio from the Group of 24.

Secondly, that the Malaysian government respect and make worker and trade union rights a priority in this exercise to try to save the national carrier, MAS.

“The employees cannot be blamed for poor management that has put MAS in this financial predicament,” said the trio.

They did not address the issue of MAS unions being against the Air Asia-MAS Collaboration Agreement to save the latter from going under. The Agreement was reportedly terminated before the last General Election after the ruling Barisan Nasional feared that MAS unions, who claimed that MAS was a “Malay” company, would vote against it.

Thirdly, the Group of 24, wants the Malaysian government to guarantee that the right to regular employment until retirement will not be sacrificed “in favour of precarious employment relationship and practices to the detriment of workers, and their unions in this process of saving the national carrier”.

“We may have no objections to MAS and its subsidiaries being taken over by the Malaysian government, or vide a government owned legal entity provided that the rights of the workers and their trade unions are respected and preserved,” the Group of 24 hastened to add.

“The current Bill, however, seems to totally disregard the rights and welfare of existing employees of MAS and its subsidiaries, or their unions.”

Workers, unlike assets, cannot be transferred from one legal entity to another new legal entity, the statement noted.

All the employees of MAS will naturally be terminated when the present MAS ceases to exist, the statement pointed out, and the Bill is silent on whether the new entity, Malaysian Airlines Berhad (MAB), will employ all MAS employees without loss of tenure and benefits or will they be abandoned.

The Group of 24 fears that the Bill, as it stands, will see the end of all trade unions of current employees of MAS, mostly in-house unions of MAS employees, and also the end of enforceability of all collective bargaining agreements(CBA) with MAS.- FMT, 3/12/2014, Group of 24 wants MAS Bill scrapped

See earlier post: Now 34 groups have endorsed this statement
Malaysian Airlines(MAS) Employees and Trade Union Rights at risk by new law being rushed through

Malaysian Airlines(MAS) Employees and Trade Union Rights at risk by new law being rushed through (36 Groups)

Media Statement – 3/12/2014

Malaysian Airlines(MAS) Employees and Trade Union Rights at risk by new law being rushed through

We, the undersigned 37 organisations, groups and trade unions are appalled with the Malaysian government’s current attempt to pass a law that will seriously undermine worker and trade union rights of employees in the Malaysian Airline System Berhad (MAS), the operator of Malaysia’s national carrier. 

Not only will the consequence of the new law be loss of employment of all employees of MAS and its subsidiaries, but also the end of the existing trade unions and associations representing the employees of MAS. The law also opens the possibility of loss of regular employment until retirement, to be replaced by precarious forms of employment like fixed term contracts or other even more precarious forms of labour practices which even evades direct employment relationship by using of workers supplied by third parties.

Malaysian Airline System Berhad (Administration) Bill 2014 was tabled and 1^st reading was on 26/11/2014, the 2^nd reading was on 27/11/2014 and was speedily passed by the Dewan Rakyat on 27/11/2014. Now, it is on the agenda of the first day of the Senate sitting on 1/12/2014, and scheduled for second reading the following day. There was really no time for anyone, including parliamentarians, to even study it, let alone comment or object to this Bill before it was speedily rushed through and passed in the Lower House of our Malaysian Parliament.

Now, the object of the Malaysian government is clear – they want the national carrier, MAS, now owned by the Malaysian Airline System Berhad, a government linked company, that is having financial problems to be taken over by a new legal entity which will be known as Malaysian Airlines Berhad in an effort to save the airline. 

We may have no objections to MAS and its subsidiaries being taken over by the Malaysian government, or vide a government owned legal entity provided that the rights of the workers and their trade unions are respected and preserved. The current Bill, however, seems to totally disregard the rights and welfare of existing employees of MAS and its subsidiaries, or their unions. 

Workers, unlike assets, cannot be transferred from one legal entity to another new legal entity. Thus, all the employees of MAS will naturally be terminated when the present MAS seeks to exist, and the Bill is silent on whether the new entity, Malaysian Airlines Berhad, will employ all these MAS employees without loss of tenure and benefits – or will they be abandoned with no employment?

The Bill makes it most clear that Malaysian Airlines Berhad(MAB) will be a new entity, and will not be an ‘assignee or transferee or a successor  employer’(Clause 26). MAB shall also not ‘be liable for any obligation relating to any retirement plan or other post-employment benefit plans in respect of the employees  or  former  employees…’, It shall also not be ‘liable for any sum which is calculated by reference to  a  period  of  time  prior  to  Malaysia  Airlines Berhad becoming  the  employer  of  the  person  in  question.’

 

‘The  Malaysia  Airlines  Berhad,  the  appointer  and  the Administrator  shall  not  be  named  as  a  party  in  any  claim or  application  made  or  joined  as  a  party  in  any  proceeding commenced  or  continued  by  or  on  behalf  of  any  employees  or former  employees  of  the  Administered  Companies  pursuant  to the  Industrial  Relations  Act  1967  [Act  177],  Employment  Act 1955 [Act 265], Sabah Labour Ordinance 1950 [Sabah Cap. 67], Sarawak Labour Ordinance 1952 [Sarawak Cap. 76] or the Trade Unions Act  1959  [Act  262].’ This means that MAB or the Administrator will not step into the shoes of MAS, or be liable, even in cases, including pending cases, between employees/trade unions and MAS. This will result in not just in loss of rights under existing labour laws, but also will result in employees and trade unions having to bear all loss of monies, time and effort sustained this far in the pursuance of justice.

MAB will be able to employ whoever and under what terms and conditions, as is stated in Clause 25, which states, ‘Malaysia Airlines Berhad may, in its  sole  discretion, offer employment to any person who immediately before the date of that offer is in the employment or service of the Administered Companies on such terms and conditions as the Malaysia Airlines Berhad  may  determine.’. The LIFO (Last In First Out) principle when it comes to employee reduction in cases of retrenchment can be ignored here, and there is every possibility that those worker and union leaders, and workers who stand up for rights, may all just not be employed by MAB.

Now, most of the 20,000 employees in MAS enjoy stable regular employment until retirement, but now the new MAB may use precarious forms of employment like short-term contracts, or even use the contractor for labour system to get third parties to supply workers without entering into a direct employment relationship with these workers at the airline. 

The Bill, as it stands also will see the end of all trade unions of current employees of MAS, most of which   being in-house union of MAS employees, and also the end of enforceability of all collective bargaining agreements(CBA) with MAS. There seem to be an implied indication that future employees of MAB will enjoy the right of freedom of association and have trade unions. 

The provision in the Bill may mislead some into believing that the existing trade unions of MAS employees will continue to exist once MAB takes over, but clearly this is not the case, Clause 28 is talking only about ‘any trade union duly recognized by the Malaysia Airlines Berhad’ and ‘any  association  recognized  by  the  Malaysia  Airlines Berhad’ – which implies that employees may have to once again form new unions and once again go through the process of seeking MAB’s recognition. Hence, this can be perceived to be a ‘union busting’ exercise done by way of the enactment of a new law.

Whilst Clause 14 says that ‘…any person is under a contract or obligation to provide goods or services or both…’ if retained, may be ‘at the same rate  as  would  have  been  paid’ by MAS may also cover employees but alas considering the later clauses that deal specifically with employees, MAB, even if they do employ former employees of MAS may not be paying the same wages. MAB will have the legal authority to stipulate new wages, benefits and terms. 

Usually when a company is wound-up, what is due and payable to the employees is amongst the first to be settled, and as such this Bill is even more detriment to employees of MAS as MAB is freed of all these obligations to workers. Employees who are terminated will also most likely not be able to recover retrenchment/termination benefits provided for in law as MAS, even if it still exists, may most likely be devoid of capacity, assets and monies, and MAB, according to this Bill, clearly has no obligation to be responsible for MAS’s obligations to its workers.

The secrecy and the blitz manner in which this Bill has been tabled, passed and being made law is also wrong, when there really should have been prior discussion and agreements especially with regard the 20,000 over employees of MAS and their trade unions, who now are in a precarious position uncertain even about the future wellbeing and livelihood of these workers and their families.

We call for:-

a)      The immediate suspension of the process of making the Malaysian Airline System Berhad (Administration)  Bill  2014 into law, or the putting into force of this Act, until all matters concerning the rights, future employment security, wellbeing and livelihood of the about 20,0000 employees of MAS and their family is resolved and provided for. The future of the existing employee trade unions and rights must also be resolved.

b)      The Malaysian government respect and make worker and trade union rights a priority in this exercise to try to save the national carrier, MAS, for after all employees can reasonably not be blamed for poor management that have put MAS in this financial predicament.

c)       The Malaysian government to guarantee that the right to regular employment until retirement will not be sacrificed in favour of precarious employment relationship and practices to the detriment of workers, and their unions in this process of saving Malaysia’s national carrier.

Charles Hector

Mohd Roszeli bin Majid

Pranom Somwong

For and on behalf of the following 37 civil society groups, trade unions and organizations

Angkatan Rakyat Muda Parti Rakyat Malaysia (ARM-PRM)

Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association- ADHOC

CAW (Committee for Asian Women)

Community Action Network (CAN), Malaysia

CWI Malaysia (Committee For A Workers International  Malaysia)

Hawaii Center for Human Rights Research & Action  (HCHR2A) 

Human Rights Ambassador for Salem-News.com, UK 

MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture)

Malaysian Physicians for Social Responsibility

Migrant Care, Indonesia

Migrante International

MTUC (Malaysian Trade Union Congress)

MTUC Sarawak on behalf of 28 affiliates union in Sarawak

National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (NUFAM)

National Union of Transport Equipment & Allied Industries Workers (NUTEAIW)

Network of Action for Migrants in Malaysia (NAMM)

Parti Rakyat Malaysia(PRM)

Pax Romana-ICMICA Asia

Perak Women for Women Society (PWW)

Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor

Persatuan Sahabat Wanita, Selangor

Pusat KOMAS (KOMAS)
School of Acting Justly, Loving Tenderly and Treading humbly (SALT)

Tenaga Nasional Junior Officers Union (TNBJOU)

Workers Hub For Change (WH4C)

ALIRAN
Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja Mitsui Copper Foil
MHS Employees Union
Sahabat Rakyat Working Committee
Clean Clothes Campaign
Association of Maybank Executives
Knowledge and Rights with Young People through Safer Spaces (KRYSS)
National Union of Journalist(NUJ) Cawangan Utusan Melayu
Kesatuan Eksekutif AIROD
MTUC Selangor dan Wilayah Persekutuan
MTUC Pahang 

Club Employees Union Peninsular Malaysia

See earlier posts:- 

All MAS employees set to lose their jobs when the MAS Admin Bill becomes law, and a new entity MAB takes over the national carrier?

MAS Admin Bill - even all existing Unions in MAS are at risk?

MAS Bill - Hansard for 27/11/2014 not out - Senators may be forced to debate the Bill today without benefit of knowing what happened in Dewan Rakyat?

MAS Bill - Hansard for 27/11/2014 not out - Senators may be forced to debate the Bill today without benefit of knowing what happened in Dewan Rakyat?

Malaysian Airline System Berhad (Administration) Bill 2014 was tabled and 1^st reading was on 26/11/2014, the 2^nd reading was on 27/11/2014 and was speedily passed by the Dewan Rakyat on 27/11/2014. Now, it is on the agenda of the first day of the Senate sitting on 1/12/2014...and it is said that it will come up for 2nd reading and probably get passed today.

What happened in the Dewan Rakyat on 27/11/2014? I do not know as the HANSARD for the day is yet to be published on the official Malaysian Parliament website as of 2.10am- follow the link to see for yourself that the Hansard for 27/11/2014 is still not out. Is it intentional?

Well, then the Senators will not even be able to see what was discussed in Parliament by the Members of Parliament(MPs) on 27/11/2014 when it came up for Second Reading, when there was questions, answers and debate before getting passed on the same day. 

So, now the Senators are hurried into the debate and this is just not right..

WHY THE RUSH TO GET THIS MAS BILL PASSED? Tabled on the 2nd last day of the sitting of the Dewan Rakyat, and passed on the last day(27/11/2014), Then tabled on the 1st day of the Senate sitting on 1/12/2014 and maybe passed today(2/12/2014)

There is much concern in this Bill?

WHY is the Administrator not being appointed by the Government of Malaysia but is now going to be done by MAS, its subsidiaries and...

Appointment  of administrator

5.  (1)  The member of the Company or the board of directors of the Company referred to in section 4 shall appoint an Administrator for  the Administered  Companies.

 4.  Subject to the prior written approval of the Minister, a member of the Company, or the board of directors of the Company pursuant to  a  resolution  of  the  board  of  directors,  may  place—
(a) the  Company;
(b) any wholly owned subsidiary company of the Company;
and
(c) the  following  partially  owned  subsidiary  companies  of  the  Company:
(i) Abacus  Distribution  Systems  (Malaysia)  Sdn. Bhd.  (Company  No.  180535-T);
(ii) Aerokleen  Services  Sdn.  Bhd.  (Company  No. 277266-X);  and
(iii) MAS Awana  Services  Sdn.  Bhd.  (Company  No. 372384-D),

under  administration  in  accordance  with  this Act.

Why is these APPOINTERS given so much power -

21.  (1)  The appointer shall consider the proposal of the Administrator together with the report of the Independent Advisor submitted to the  appointer  under  subsection  20(3).

(2)  Where the appointer approves the proposal, the Administrator shall  implement  the  proposal  in  accordance  with  its  terms.

(3)  Where  the  appointer  rejects  the  proposal,  the  appointer may—
(a) direct  the Administrator  to  revise  the  proposal;
(b) direct  the Administrator  to  prepare  a  new  proposal;  or
(c) terminate  the  administration  of  the  Administered Companies.

Now, it was these companies who was responsible for the failures in MAS - and they are again now given so much power...WHY? 

Why is MAS not being made a STATUTORY BODY under the power and control of the government? Now, MAS will be 'transferred' from one Company to another Company

See also earlier posts:- 

All MAS employees set to lose their jobs when the MAS Admin Bill becomes law, and a new entity MAB takes over the national carrier?

MAS Admin Bill - even all existing Unions in MAS are at risk?

MAS paid RM60 for 1 nasi lemak? It is mismanagement and not the fault of Employees for MAS's downfall?

Update: - At about 2.30pm, 2/12/2014, when I went to the Malaysian Parliament website, I see that the Hansard for 27/11/2014 is finally out

Be that as it may, still I believe that our people's representative (Wakil Rakyat) were never given the required time to get the feedback from the affected employees of MAS, their Trade Unions and the people of Malaysia. This law will affect a lot of families - and let us also not forget that this is a matter of the Malaysian people's national carrier - and we have invested so much monies. We deserved more time....

MAS paid RM60 for 1 nasi lemak? It is mismanagement and not the fault of Employees for MAS's downfall?

The problems with MAS did not start with the dissapearance of flight MH370 or the shooting down of MH17 - it was there for sometime. What was the cause? Well, it would have been mis-management when we now hear that MAS was paying RM60 for Nasi Lemak...

Pua blamed MAS's lopsided contracts with companies such as Brahim's Airline Catering Sdn Bhd for the carrier's downfall, citing as example the RM60 cost of nasi lemak, which he said was excessive. "How to be profitable like that? "I fly on Air Asia and only have to pay RM12.50 for their delicious nasi lemak, this is also expensive but at least Air Asia is profitable," Pua added.

MAS has about 20,000 employees - and there is talk now that they can function with only 14,000 when a NEW entity, Malaysian Airlines Berhad, eventually takes over the national carrier. Was the employees the cause of the downfall of MAS? Were they lazy or 'under-worked' by MAS? Were there about '6.000' unnecessary employees? I do not think so, because I see all MAS employees being hardworking people - so, is MAS going to downsize. Or maybe they are just reducing employees - and will use workers supplied by third party(contractor for labour system?)

See earlier posts:- 

All MAS employees set to lose their jobs when the MAS Admin Bill becomes law, and a new entity MAB takes over the national carrier?

MAS Admin Bill - even all existing Unions in MAS are at risk?

 

Parliament passes MAS bill

BY JENNIFER GOMEZ

Published: 27 November 2014

Malaysia Airlines has been reeling from two major air disasters this year, forcing a major overhaul led by state fund Khazanah Nasional. – Reuters file pic, November 27, 2014. 

 

The Dewan Rakyat today passed the Malaysian Airline System (MAS) Bhd (Administration) Bill 2014, which provides for the troubled carrier to be operated by a new entity.

The bill provides for Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) as the airline's new administrator and operator, as well as its wholly owned and partially owned subsidiary companies.

During the debate on the bill, Tony Pua (DAP-Petaling Jaya Utara) said that an act alone could not save the ailing airline as its failure was caused by bad management.

He said directly negotiated contracts as opposed to open tender, and cronyism, were also the reasons why MAS had failed. "But we still see direct negotiations and the New Economic Policy is being promoted as  helping the Malays when it is actually being misused to help cronies.

"If we don't correct all these, we will continue to see bailouts like this being brought to Parliament, this will not be the last," he said.

Pua blamed MAS's lopsided contracts with companies such as Brahim's Airline Catering Sdn Bhd for the carrier's downfall, citing as example the RM60 cost of nasi lemak, which he said was excessive.

"How to be profitable like that?

"I fly on Air Asia and only have to pay RM12.50 for their delicious nasi lemak, this is also expensive but at least Air Asia is profitable," Pua added.

Datuk Raja Kamarul Bahrin Shah Raja Ahmad (PAS-Kuala Terengganu) said contracts like Brahim's which was a 25-year deal should be reviewed as promised by the government.

He said Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaludin was an interested party as Brahim's chairman, Datuk Ibrahim Ahmad Badawi, was his wife's uncle.

Raja Kamarul questioned the need for the amendment this morning, saying it was unfair and sneaky.
"Khairy, a minister, is an interested party. Did he have a part in this last-minute change and is he going to vote (on the bill)," he asked.

Hanipa Maidin (PAS-Sepang) wanted to know if the fate of the employees will be protected, saying this needed to be looked into as the problems faced by the carrier were not contributed by the staff.

Instead, he said those who created the problems, such as former MAS chairman Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli, were protected by the government.

Wong Chen (PKR-Kelana Jaya), in questioning the amendment, said it guaranteed existing suppliers that their contracts with the airline would be continued at the same rate.

He said the original clause had mentioned that this would be at the discretion of the administrator, adding that the amendment effectively took away the discretionary powers of the administrator.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Deparment, Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar, when winding up the debate, explained that the discretion remained with MAS's new administrator despite the amendment.

He said while the administrator was allowed to renegotiate contracts and to appoint new suppliers, there must be continued supply of goods and services with existing suppliers so that the airline's business was not disrupted.

The act shall apply for a period of five years, or until MAB is listed on the stock exchange, whichever is earlier.

The bill is part of plans by sovereign state fund Khazanah Nasional to restructure MAS, which has been in the red following two major disasters this year.

Flight MH370 to Beijing is still missing with 239 on board after nearly nine months, while flight MH17 enroute from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over war-torn eastern Ukraine in July, killing all 298 people on board. – November 27, 2014.

 

- See more at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/parliament-passes-mas-bill#sthash.DgT1P3w8.dpuf

On International Women Human Rights Defenders’ Day, NGOs Call Attention to the Role of Indigenous Women in Malaysia

30 November, 2014 (A Media Statement)

On International Women Human Rights Defenders’ Day, NGOs Call Attention to the Role of Indigenous Women in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur - To mark the International Women Human Rights Defenders’ Day on the 29^th of November, women members of the national indigenous peoples’ organization, Jaringan Orang Asli SeMalaysia (JOAS), announced the launch of their own indigenous women’s network, “Wanita-JOAS”.

“The birth of Wanita-JOAS comes at a critical time when indigenous women across Malaysia are confronted with the need to defend their livelihoods and protect their heritage in the face of threats to the very survival of their communities from large-scale mining, rampant logging, the expansion of palm oil plantations, and the building of large-scale dams. They are not only joining alongside men in their communities in this effort, but are taking important leadership roles. It is more important than ever before that indigenous women have the space to share information, strategies and perspectives and develop a platform like Wanita-JOAS to help strengthen their collective resolve,” said Mary Giun, Secretary of JOAS.

For Fatimah Bah Sin of Kampung Mengkapor, Pahang, this willingness to take a leadership role has led to a precedent-setting victory significant for her entire community of Semaq Beri people.[1]  As a plaintiff and an appellant in a native customary lands rights case, she explains, “For decades, we have sought to assert Orang Asli customary land rights. We want our children, their children and the generations to come to be able to know the forests, the rivers and the land of our ancestors. Although we had to take this case beyond the High Court, finally, with a positive decision from the Court of Appeal, we stand a higher chance to have our rights to our customary land affirmed.”

Rimbu Ngang, headwoman (Tuai Rumah) of the Sungai Sawai Suai Niah Longhouse and chairwoman of the Wanita-JOAS chapter in Sarawak, is similarly keen to protect the land of her ancestors from being ravaged by logging operations and destroyed for palm oil plantations. But in doing so, she also asserts a call for respect. “We work in partnership with the men in our communities. We also need them - along with the Malaysian public - to respect us. We are taking a stand for our land rights, our rights to cultural survival, and the right to a dignified livelihood; we are speaking about the same concerns as men in our community. But in this day-to-day work, inside and outside our homes, we also demand dignity - violence against women in its many forms within our own communities must end. Men and boys in our communities have a role to play in helping to cultivate respectful attitudes, listening to our perspectives, giving us space to speak out, and being willing to share leadership.”

According to Caroline Nyurang, co-chair of the Save Sarawak’s Rivers Youth Committee, “Although the media and the government have focused on a few voices of people who are concerned about the Baram Dam, we want the public to know that there are thousands of us - including women and young people - who have not agreed to surrender our land rights and give way for the building of the Baram Dam. We have never given our consent to Sarawak Energy’s plans to flood our land and force up to 20,000 of us to move to resettlement sites so that they can build a 1200 MW hydroelectric project. In the resettlement sites set up for the Bakun and Murum Dams in Sarawak, we have seen how women are struggling to feed their families, to have clean and sufficient water for household needs, and to lead dignified lives in the midst of despair. We are determined here in Baram not to face the same fate.”

Diana Sipail, from Kampung Terian in Sabah, echoes the same sentiment in her concerns about the proposed Kaiduan Dam. She has been active in Kampung Terian Protection Action Committee, and asserts, “Our communities have been consistently raising our concerns about the proposed Kaiduan Dam, as we have never given consent for it to be built on our customary lands. We, including the women of the affected communities, are clear - there are better, less destructive ways for sustained water storage in Sabah. There is no need to displace our communities and to force us to live in resettlement sites where we will be sure to face shortages of food, poor housing conditions, and spiraling frustration, depression, hopelessness as well as violence within our communities.”

Serene Lim, of the national human rights group, SUARAM, explains, “Too often, women taking a stand in defense of rights guaranteed in our constitution and committed to by the Malaysian Government are neglected, ignored or marginalized.” She concludes, “We hope the marking of this year's International Women Human Rights Defenders’ Day will bring a new level of willingness to make way for their voices and concerns to be heard.”

---

[1] On 28 November 2014, the Court of Appeal, Putrajaya, reaffirmed that customary land rights of Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia and that such rights 'co-exist' with the Aboriginal People Act 1954. A retrial of the original land rights case brought forward by 82 plaintiffs of the Semaq Beri tribe to the High Court of Kuantan has been ordered.