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Covering Tony Fernandes in my past life as a business journalist has always been a tricky proposition.
When should one take him seriously?
Fernandes is a salesman, always drawing attention to himself or his brand.
But substance?
When the Finance Ministry (MoF) appointed Alton Aviation Consultancy to look into AirAsia Group’s funding needs, it read like irony.
It dredged up memories of a 2014 tweet of his that hasn’t aged well: “I wonder if it’s fair that Malaysia Airlines can lose so much money and protect its market share. Can only do that with taxpayers’ money.”
Back then, Malaysia Airlines had just posted a net loss of RM1.17 billion.
Now it is AirAsia reaching for a government hand of its own, at least according to last week’s Reuters report.
MoF tasked Alton with breaking down the financial support AirAsia needs, if any.
The budget carrier is seeking up to US$1 billion in fresh funding and another RM700 million in local facilities.
With taxpayers’ money potentially being lined up, it’s worth asking what put him there.