I read with disgust the news reports on Malaysia Airlines' financial woes. It seems to me that the government is not serious about turning around the national carrier.

I read in disbelief when Finance Ministry parliamentary secretary Hilmi Yahaya blamed excess luggage for the huge loss suffered by MAS and suggested a Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS). While it is good to streamline operations and cut down costs, how much will these contribute to the bottom line?

A VSS is not something cheap to carry out. It will probably involve another few hundred million in losses, considering the fact that MAS will have to compensate senior management with 'golden handshakes'. And I would not be surprised at all if MAS hired them back on contract.

MAS is turning out to be the largest scam in Malaysia. It is a simple way to extract money out of government coffers, which of course comes from the rakyat's taxes. According to Sri Gading MP Mohamed Aziz, it was an "open secret" that MAS' suppliers were overcharging the airline. Hilmi added that it was "public knowledge" that in-flight food was being supplied to MAS at a high cost.

If it is public knowledge, why was nothing ever done about it? Why is Hilmi blaming 'excess luggage' and even suggesting a VSS when there could be a much better and more straightforward solution? Are MAS contracts offered by open tender? No, they were negotiated with those linked to the government. MAS should reveal the details of these contracts to the public. Let the rakyat have a look at who are leaching the government's coffers.

Does MAS have to continue subsidising these rich cronies of the government? Is that not cheating the country of its resources? What has the MAS senior management been doing all this while? Are they hired just to give out easy money to those linked with the top echelons in the country?

Hilmi also said that MAS did not plan to hire foreign consultants for the moment. Of course MAS would not want to hire them. It would be an embarrassment if these foreign consultants reveal the 'secret' of MAS' failure to the world. Malaysia will look like a joke for MAS is giving 'donations' to the rich and famous in Malaysia!

The worse thing is that those who were contracted to supply in-flight food are not even from that industry. They obtained the contracts at extremely attractive prices and then subcontract them to those in the actual industry at just a fraction of the price.

As long as the government is not serious about a total revamp, it will have to continue pumping in money into MAS only to have it being withdrawn by some clever morons who are stripping our country naked. MAS is turning out to be another Proton.

Instead of being a national icon, it is now a national burden, dishing out free money to the lucky at the expense of the rakyat. Malaysians do not need such companies.