The reversal of the much criticised MAS-AirAsia share swap deal shows that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s policy has failed in transforming an ailing government-linked company (GLC), said DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.

NONE The Penang chief minister ( right ) said in a statement that the scrapping of the deal also shows that the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) cannot address legacy problems caused by the BN government’s meddling.

Although the swap deal is not listed under the ETP, Lim said the issue is a sorry reflection of the ETP’s failure to save MAS, which is ailing due to privatisation and re-nationalisation exercises.

“And now in a complete reversal, Khazanah has admitted that the latest merger of cross-holding of shares, which was intended to create economies of scale for the major shareholders, Khazanah and Tune Air, had become a distraction to the management’s efforts to turn around MAS,” he said.

The national carrier had soon after the swap deal with AirAsia announced that it was RM2.52 billion in the red for 2011, continuing its downward spiral.