Be transparent over hiring practices, Tony Fernandes tells SIA Engineering over recruitment of Malaysia Airlines engineers

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has urged SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC) to be more transparent about its recruitment practices, particularly regarding the hiring of aircraft engineers from Malaysia Airlines.

In a LinkedIn post on Friday, the CEO of Capital A Bhd questioned SIAEC’s claim that only 10 per cent of its hires were from Malaysia Airlines Berhad Engineering Services (MAB Engineering), according to news portal Free Malaysia Today in a report published today.

He also raised concerns about the qualifications and salaries of the remaining 90 per cent of employees.

“So where did the other 90 per cent come from? And what salaries are you paying? Let’s be transparent. So your 90 per cent are all school leavers?” Fernandes asked.

While expressing support for SIAEC’s operations in Malaysia, Fernandes criticised the lack of similar opportunities for AirAsia in Singapore.

“We have been trying to get AirAsia Singapore approved. We are in five Asean countries. The people of Singapore have little choice,” he said, adding that his attempt to buy a low-cost carrier in Singapore was rejected.

Fernandes stressed the need for Singapore to stop protecting its markets if an open Asean was to be achieved.

“Singapore needs to have real competition like Malaysia and other Asean countries do.”

Fernandes’ comments came after SIAEC’s senior vice-president of base maintenance, Jeremy Yew, clarified that the 10 per cent recruitment of technical staff from Malaysia Airlines Berhad Engineering Services (MAB Engineering) was done through an open recruitment process, including job fairs and online platforms.

Concerns were raised by various parties over SIAEC’s local operations after a news portal reported that 60 engineering staff from Malaysia Airlines had resigned to join the aircraft maintenance company, which is owned by Singapore Airlines.

SIAEC signed a 15-year agreement with Impeccable Vintage Properties, a subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional, to lease two hangars at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, with an option to extend for another 15 years.