Mavcom chairman says no consultation before aviation merger, ‘heart goes out’ to team
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 — News that the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) will merge with the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) appears to have taken the former by surprise.
Mavcom executive chairman Nungsari A. Radhi has confirmed news reports that the Transport Ministry planned to go ahead with the merger, but expressed his disappointment that the civil aviation economic and commercial regulator was not consulted beforehand.
“We are all on the same side; we all have the same concerns about the state and development of the industry in Malaysia, the health of the aviation service providers, consumer welfare and investor confidence. There is also this urgent issue of CAAM downgrade that needs to be addressed together.
“All those notwithstanding, the decision by the government to repeal the Mavcom Act is a decision that there is no need for an independent economic regulator for the aviation industry that looks into commercial licensing, competition matters as well as consumer welfare and public service obligations; functions that did not exist before Mavcom was set up,” Nungsari said in a statement today.
He also acknowledged that the ministry’s proposal to Cabinet on the merger has been communicated to Mavcom.
Nungsari said his current focus is on two things: the welfare of his staff and to hand over Mavcom’s statutory role in a responsible manner.
He promised to work with its commissioners to create a proper transition for the staff and Mavcom will also hand over all statutory roles and responsibilities to the Transport Ministry. For the time being, they will still continue to perform their role as stated in the Mavcom Act.
“I am very proud of the team at Mavcom, a blend of experience and highly talented young people, who have performed with integrity and professionalism to improve both the standards of service as well as the regulatory framework in the industry. My heart goes out to them,” said Nungsari.
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