IN BUSINESS FOR MAKING MONEY OR GETTING ‘FREE’ MONEY FROM THE GOVT? MASWINGS & PLUS – 2 ‘STRANGE’ BUSINESS MODELS

Here is some bizarre news from Sabah’s Daily Express dated today.

Maswings did not deny this had been the case since Jan.1 

blamed it on new Public Service Obligations (PSO) 2019 Agreement

which was signed between the Airlines and Ministry of Transport (MOT)

 

 

KOTA KINABALU:  bizzare turn that defies logic

Maswings flying ATR500s, KK – Sandakan four times daily 

without any paying passengers on board

240 seats unoccupied – mean loss of RM46,800 daily, RM1.4m monthly

public prevented from boarding these “ferry flights” 

ATRs serve Sandakan-Tawau sector,  return  to KK empty

They described the arrangement as “stupid”.

Transport, Finance Minister explain why taxpayer’s money wasted this way

absurd – not a single passenger when plane took off to Sandakan

also a waste of fuel for aircraft

Maswings did not deny this had been the case since Jan.1 

blamed it on new Public Service Obligations (PSO) 2019 Agreement

which was signed between the Airlines and Ministry of Transport (MOT)

new agreement  – cannot operate “eight routes” in Sabah,  Swak 

include KK – Sandakan vice versa, KK – Tawau vice versa

eight routes removed 

now operated by Malaysia Airlines, Airasia

to fulfil obligation, we operate ‘ferry services’ from KK – Sandakan 

we are not allowed to carry passengers per guidelines by MAVCOM,  MOT

our own staff not allowed to board such flight 

My comments :  Only in Malaysia folks. Only in Malaysia. 
I cannot fully fathom what is going on here [you can read the full article – the link is provided] but planes forced to fly empty to and fro just to meet some regulatory agreement sounds not very bright at all.  

This is what I mean when I keep repeating that our economy is over regulated, over monopolied and over oligopolied. 

Just liberalise, deregulate and let the market take care of itself.

The other really moronic business practise is the refusal by PLUS to accept cash for topping up your Touch and Go card at their toll booths. 

Dont get me wrong. They accept cash from you to top up BUT ONLY IF you do not have enough ‘credit’ left  while exiting the toll. In other words they have to accept your money lah. 

But if you want to just top up an extra HUNDRED RINGGIT they say NO. Tak boleh.

The other day the girl said, ‘Encik boleh Tambah Nilai bila masuk balik tol’.  

In other words she was telling me to queue up at the Tambah Nilai booth when I re-entered the toll in the morning – along with the 55 other cars that will also be queuing up.

I have to waste time, queueing up at peak hours, just to top up my Touch and Go.  

Then it gets worse, there are also peak periods where they do not allow all Tambah Nilai. Period. 

Now I just top up my Touch and Go in Tesco, at MyNews and elsewhere.

I say PLUS,  pasal apa engkau orang bodoh macam ini?

These two clowns here are the MD [on the left] and the CEO of PLUS [on the right].  Nampak blur saja bro.

This is why I keep repeating that these folks just do not seem to understand business.

They do not teach you this in university because it is just known to the rest of the human race that  :      ANY BUSINESS MUST  NEVER REFUSE TO ACCEPT CASH MONEY FROM YOUR CUSTOMERS.

And when do you accept cash money from your customers? 
The answer is NOW.  Not in one hour’s time or the next day.

This is basic rule Number ONE.

Ask any business, what we are craving for is cash from our customers. 
You just cannot tell your customers ‘We dont want your money right now‘. 

If PLUS has debt financing this should be considered an event of default. 
When you do not accept cash from the highway users, it is akin to ‘ceasing operations’. That is an event of default.

When highway users pay our cash to you,  that money can go into time deposits where PLUS can already earn interest.  That is free profits.

Why does PLUS think it is a clever thing to refuse to accept our money?

Because PLUS is a monopoly.  
They know that the road users really have little or no choice.
So they can bully us.

Yes I can take the alternative road. 
Google Maps can find it easily. 
But it will take more time, more petrol money. 
I have little choice but to take the PLUS highway. 

They will never learn how to be succesful in business – even after another hundred years.

Ignoring the cost factors, there are still some people arguing that we should not build  the high speed train from Singapore to KL because it will ‘bankrupt’ MAS flights between Singapore and KL. 

Again this is so mind boggling stupid that I dont even know how to begin to rebut these folks. 

So why did we build roads, cars and buses?  
Roads and cars would have ‘bankrupted’ the kereta lembu business.  
What do you say to that?

Why build a railway line from Penang to Selangor? 
The railway line can bankrupt Penang Port or Port Klang.
Its the same argument.

You do not stop progress.
If a high speed train can be built then go ahead and build it. 
If MAS or SIA will lose their ticket sales – thats tough luck.
It is called progress.  

– http://syedsoutsidethebox.blogspot.com