I refer to the Malaysiakini reports Q&A: Fernandes pours out his frustrations and 'No, Tony. Your mistake was supporting BN'

I find it disheartening that people tend to look at only one side of the coin. For once, did we ever take into consideration how Fernandes went against all the odds to develop AirAsia into the success story that it is today?

Because of his never-ending quest to do something good for this country, there is now an ‘Everyone Can Fly’. Did it ever occur to us that when Fernandes took over AirAsia in 2002, the term ‘low-cost-carrier’ was an unknown one to many Malaysians?
 
We all have our strengths and weaknesses but that should not be held against us. I have flown on both AirAsia and AirAsia X and I must say that I was impressed with what they offered on their flights.

They may not offer what other high-end airlines do because AirAsia’s philosophy is getting its passengers from point A to point B and vice-versa within a specific budget, usually a tight one.
 
Now comes the KLIA-East issue. For a start, I really cannot understand some of our ministers. We have seen the negative impact the recession has had on our economy. Rather then making the best of the situation, our ministers tend to make a mockery of it.

I love Malaysia and I believe that Malaysia have a lot to offer in terms of tourism. Whether in BN- led or Pakatan Rakyat-led states, what is more important is to get tourists into the country and make it easier for them to get from one point to another.

If people were to fly with AirAsia or even AirAsia X and land at the current LCCT where connectivity is at its minimum, wouldn’t it be a nightmare for them? Imagine a foreigner coming to this country with high expectations but who instead goes home with negative thoughts about Malaysia.

He tells ten of his friends and his friends tell ten of theirs and so on. Soon everyone will know and think twice about visiting Malaysia. Then what? Do we sit down and blame everyone else for the bad economy when we were given an opportunity to boost the tourism industry but threw it way?

The fact that some people can’t see eye to eye and are only interested in short-term gains is why we lag behind our neighboring countries, in both business and tourism. In anything we do, we must always look at the long-term benefits and look for ways to improve.

I strongly urge all parties involved to look beyond boundaries and put aside their personal interests and differences and for once, look at the interest of the rakyat and how we all can benefit with a new LCCT that has the best connectivity to cater to the needs of both local and foreign tourists.

We must be proud of our achievements but at the same time, be able to maintain our standards.