- 2 months ago
Ten years. One transformation journey.
This documentary reflects on Malaysia Aviation Group transformation over the past ten years and a defining chapter that now comes to a close, as the national carrier prepares for its next phase.
This documentary reflects on Malaysia Aviation Group transformation over the past ten years and a defining chapter that now comes to a close, as the national carrier prepares for its next phase.
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00:42Where Malaysia Airlines got today is the organisation united itself through a painful path.
00:51And I hope lesson learned from wider Malaysia is that all of us get united for one common purpose,
00:58make Malaysia great.
01:00That is viewing Malaysia Airlines as where we are today, it didn't happen by chance.
01:07It comes with a lot of perseverance, resilient and a very painful journey.
01:15So where we stand today, where we are today, in exactly in Malaysia, we are at the epicentre
01:24of the growth of the aviation industry.
01:26You know, this is an industry that has gone through so many challenges.
01:31And MAG, Malaysia Aviation Group in particular, has had a tremendous amount.
01:37There was one point in our journey where we didn't know whether we would exist.
01:42And that was in the pandemic time.
01:49But if we look at the future, in the midterm, I think there are a lot of people that can be
01:58banged at the performance of MAG.
02:02And also, at the way that they manage the trade.
02:09And so while the 10 years we've made so much progress, I think we have so much more to do
02:24in the next 25 years.
02:26For a national career, the past decade was not about growth, but about survival,
02:40discipline and restoring trust.
02:45This is the story of how Malaysia Airlines rebuilt itself and how its leaders are now preparing
02:51for what comes next.
02:53Really, reflecting back over the last nine years when I became CEO in 2017,
03:00in all honesty, I don't know where to start.
03:03And I don't know where to head.
03:05And I don't know what the mission and objective for MAG should be.
03:11As you know, and most Malaysians know,
03:15at that time, the liability that we inherited was about 25.7 billion.
03:21And I have a cash flow of about minus 900 million.
03:24And morale in the organisation was not only low, it was non-existent.
03:30So consumer confidence was non-existent to a certain degree.
03:36So where do I start?
03:38Hence, that was a difficult period of the time.
03:42But reflecting back, it was an impossible task.
03:46Impossible to a certain degree that, you know, there is no hope anymore for MAG.
03:51However, I felt very strongly at that time, few things that need to happen.
03:56Predominantly is to restructure our finance, one.
04:01Number two is regain moral or confidence with our people in Malaysia Asian Group.
04:08And thirdly is to regain confidence from the market.
04:11So that was a journey that we undertook.
04:14So, as soon as we get back to 10 years ago,
04:18management,
04:20it is really difficult for us to face the lack of confidence from many people.
04:32Not only in the air,
04:34but also in the world.
04:37As stability returned,
04:49strategy took centre stage.
04:51Not expansion for its own sake,
04:53but intentional choices about where,
04:56how,
04:57and who Malaysia Airlines are for.
05:01It's been a journey for us.
05:03And if you rewind back to perhaps 2017,
05:07we started our journey with a low base, right?
05:10We were financially not in a good position,
05:13as well as we didn't have a good product, hardware.
05:17But we realised there's a need to differentiate.
05:19We realised there's a need to return back to the old Malaysia Airlines.
05:23And with that,
05:24we started to talk a lot about how do we invest in the soft side of services.
05:29The product side, the hardware, we couldn't do much
05:31because we didn't have enough money,
05:33and it took time.
05:35And you could see us moving strength from step to step,
05:38just trying to recover our CVP,
05:41customer value proposition position.
05:43We started with the soft services,
05:45we started with making sure that the reliability of our booking journey is there.
05:51We tried to make sure that our lounges are good enough.
05:55And on board, we started to look at how we serve our customers.
05:59And part of that means to invest in more people in cabin crew,
06:05more in food and beverage,
06:07so that we elevate the whole experience.
06:09I believe,
06:11circa mid-90s, 1990s, 1990s,
06:15I believe Malaysia Airlines has about 200 aeroplates.
06:18And we fly to 426 destination then,
06:22with our own metal and with our partners.
06:25Today, Nabilah, we only have 82 aeroplanes,
06:28Malaysia Airlines.
06:29And we fly to 1,100 destination.
06:32Amazing, you know?
06:33It's a change of philosophy.
06:35It's a change of strategy.
06:39Because in Malaysia Airlines, we know where we belong.
06:43We know where we stand,
06:45but we know our ambition.
06:47And our vision is very clear.
06:49And we want to be a full-service airline.
06:51And arising from that strategy that we took,
06:58of reorganising or restrategising our network,
07:02together with our partners,
07:04today, you see Malaysia Airlines,
07:07top-line revenue contributed by international market
07:10is close to 90%.
07:12As compared to previously,
07:14international market contribution to our top-line revenue
07:16is about 55%.
07:18That itself creates confidence in the marketplace.
07:21And indirectly, Nabilah,
07:23it also create a basket of foreign currencies
07:27that Malaysia Airlines was able to
07:33and why is it so important of foreign currencies?
07:39Nabilah, airline business is not easy.
07:42Margin at 1.5% is very lucky.
07:46In the Asia-Pacific region, yes,
07:48margins in the Middle Eastern region
07:51is close to 8% to 9%.
07:53Europe is about 3%.
07:54North America is about 4%.
07:56But in the ASEAN region,
07:58margin is very thin.
07:591% to 1.5% if you are lucky.
08:02That 1% and 1.5% or 2% can flip any day,
08:07driven by issues surrounding on macroeconomics,
08:12geopolitics,
08:13and it's a very thin margin business.
08:17So, for Malaysia Airlines,
08:19for us to get out of this conundrum
08:22of really focusing on the airline business alone
08:27will not take us to the future.
08:29Malaysia Air Vision Group has to reinvent itself.
08:32So, our aspiration moving forward
08:35through long-term business spend 3.0
08:37is to generate revenue at least 30%
08:40from non-airline business such as cargo, such as MRO,
08:45such as ground handling, such as catering, and many more.
08:49So, if there is another crisis equivalent or similarity to the pandemic,
08:57at least Malaysia Air Vision Group will be able to have that cushion.
09:01And learning a lesson learned from the pandemic,
09:04we cannot put our egg in the same basket all the time.
09:08And the two main core principles in this organization
09:13that we put to close our heart is one,
09:18Malaysia Air Vision Group must be commercially sustainable by itself.
09:22Mas juga mempunyai management yang,
09:26pada pendapat saya,
09:27sangat stabil,
09:28sangat kuat
09:29dari segi sustainable,
09:32sustainability officer
09:34daripada segi strategi,
09:36daripada segi kewangan.
09:37Jadi, Kapten Izzam telah
09:40menubuhkan satu management yang
09:44sedia
09:45untuk
09:47melalui cadangan-cadangan ini
09:49di waktu terdekat daripada 3, 4, 5 tahun yang akan datang.
09:53Jadi, itu
09:54amat penting
09:55kerana
09:56saya berpendapat
09:58landscape aviation,
10:00landscape airline
10:01yang akan datang pada tahun ini
10:03akan lebih sukar.
10:04Mungkin lebih sukar daripada Covid
10:06dari segi kewangan.
10:07Kerana kita
10:08melihat
10:11instability,
10:12tidak stabil
10:13geopolitik.
10:16Behind every passenger experience,
10:18is a commercial decision
10:20and long-term bet.
10:22For an airline,
10:23sustainability
10:24is not just environmental,
10:26it is economic,
10:27operational
10:28and cultural.
10:31It's interesting, you know,
10:32that if you reflect on the past 10 years
10:34in MEG,
10:35at the start of the 10 years,
10:37people did talk about it,
10:39but we didn't really take sustainability very seriously.
10:42but I think we in the group started honestly charting a very structured program
10:47about 4 to 5 years ago
10:49in the midst of the pandemic
10:51when we started really articulating our goals
10:54and the purpose of what we have to do right as a national carrier as well.
10:59What I think is interesting is that when we think about sustainability,
11:04we always think it's about purely the environment,
11:07but you know for us especially,
11:09it's not only that,
11:10it's the environmental, the social, the governance work as a whole.
11:14But if we just focus on the environmental side,
11:17I mean one of the biggest challenges with the aviation industry
11:21is that it is what we call a hard-to-abate sector,
11:24which is it's very difficult to decarbonise.
11:27So when we think about what are the important levers to decarbonise,
11:33right,
11:34there are fundamentally four core levers.
11:36And the first is of course just driving more efficiency in the operations,
11:40which is like how can we make the most of the current assets we have.
11:44That's number one, right.
11:46And then number two is what we would say
11:48is actually replacing our next fleet with next generation aircraft,
11:53which if you've noticed in the past three to four years,
11:56we have really introduced a whole branch of really fuel-efficient aircraft
12:00from the 737-8s to the 330neos.
12:03And that really has delivered like close to double-digit fuel efficiency numbers
12:08for the business, right, as a whole.
12:10So that's been very good for the bottom line
12:12and also for our sustainability goals as well to reduce emissions.
12:16With the new aircraft coming in,
12:18what you'll see now is that our hardware starts to be refreshed.
12:22And you'll see that the experience on board starts to change
12:25and we've received tremendous positive feedback from our customers.
12:30And we are happy with the results,
12:32but we think we have still some ways to go.
12:35So our journey has been rather long,
12:38but again, it's part of the cycle.
12:40To give you an example, Nabila, we have, from a Skytrax perspective,
12:45we were ranked 39th in 2024.
12:47Today we are ranked 27th best airline.
12:50It's a huge jump.
12:51Yeah, it's a huge jump.
12:52And our cabin crew has been recognised in 2025
12:55as the 8th best in the world,
12:57which is a recognition of the hard work
13:00that has gone into trying to push the premium product for us as well.
13:05Aviation is unforgiving.
13:09Global competition,
13:11rising costs,
13:13and geopolitical uncertainty
13:15leave little room for error.
13:17From our perspective,
13:19the next five to ten years
13:21will be a period of growth for Malaysia Airlines.
13:24We are estimated to grow our fleet size
13:27to 116 aircraft by 2035,
13:30from the 88 that we have today.
13:33Now that is a tremendous commitment for us
13:36in the sense of the size of operations,
13:38but also what we can then offer to our customers.
13:42With the new aircraft coming in,
13:44we will expect a better product experience on board.
13:47And we are already starting moves to revamp the product that we have.
13:50Although it's new today,
13:51but we need to think about the 10 year journey.
13:54And so we're trying to look at that
13:55in terms of how do we better offer a better customer experience on board
13:59in competition,
14:01in comparison with our competitors.
14:04Now today we are very much a connecting carrier,
14:07meaning we now need to compete with the large boys,
14:10the Middle East carriers,
14:11with Singapore,
14:12with KT.
14:13So all this,
14:14they have really good products.
14:16And so we must keep up to that.
14:18And so we need to invest.
14:21But we are committed for that journey
14:23because we are firmly,
14:24we firmly recognize that we are in this premium space
14:27and we need to be credible in that area.
14:30So when we talk about resiliency,
14:32it is important for us to understand the micro-economic
14:34and the geopolitical, right?
14:36And this industry is one of the lowest return of equity, right?
14:40Anything that happens anywhere in the world,
14:42let it be in the Middle East,
14:44let it be in the African nation,
14:46the American nation,
14:47the industry will be impacted.
14:49If the industry is affected,
14:50we are obviously impacted as well.
14:52And we've seen this many, many times.
14:53Not just we talk about geopolitical,
14:55something in the light of COVID.
14:57It has impacted everyone,
14:58including ourselves.
14:59So to ensure that we are resilient enough,
15:02to ensure that we are able to ride all these
15:05turbulence or challenges that we've got in the industry,
15:08we have to be very smart in managing our business.
15:10So we need to focus on the area that we are able to return the highest seal
15:15in the context of our airline in that sense, right?
15:19As an example,
15:20the focus for Malaysia Airlines was in India the last three years.
15:23We were really focusing on India.
15:25Today, we are happy to say that we've got 10 destination in India
15:28that can bring our customers to Kuala Lumpur
15:31and then after onwards to New Zealand and Australia and others.
15:34So that kind of management and also strategy is so important.
15:39On top of that, it is also important, Nabilah,
15:42as I mentioned to you earlier on,
15:43to diversify our income, right?
15:46We just cannot put everything in our one basket.
15:49We have learned from the mistakes that we've had from the COVID in 2020.
15:53It was very, very painful.
15:55We had to do a lot of negotiation with our lessors
15:59and our creditors and others,
16:00but we have learned that we need to diversify our business big time.
16:04Right?
16:05As I mentioned, the focus will be on the likes of our engineering,
16:08the likes of our catering,
16:10the likes of our ground handling, right?
16:11And to ensure that we're able to have this ancillary revenue
16:14so that we are able to write the T-belins.
16:17Do I see, as a personal note, I'm not an economist,
16:22I'm not a politician, I'm just a simple businessman.
16:26I see huge opportunity in the ASEAN region.
16:30So ASEAN is positioned to be the third world,
16:35the third strongest economy in the world in the next decade, right?
16:40So what does it translate?
16:42It translate into,
16:44for us to do business in the ASEAN region seamlessly,
16:49borders becomes very blurred, right?
16:52And to a certain extent, possibly,
16:54I mean, I'm dreaming too much here,
16:56that the ASEAN region might be the next EU in the making, right?
17:01So, specifically here, Malaysia Airlines,
17:05we are in the right position,
17:07in a region which is growing fundamentally,
17:11and you see Malaysia specifically is growing very healthily, right?
17:16and I don't see where,
17:19I don't see,
17:20of course there will be speed bumps along the way,
17:24there will be a little bit of thunderstorm here and there,
17:27but Malaysia located in the ASEAN region is positioned
17:32to a very huge advantage position.
17:35And this is where leaders, which is young team,
17:41must be aware, cognizant of how the future looks like.
17:47If you see how the future looks like,
17:49only then you can lead the organisation
17:52to ensure it is on the curve or ahead of curve.
17:56So what does it entail?
17:58Malaysia Air Vision Group have to change
18:01to feed itself for the future.
18:05Against that backdrop,
18:06Malaysia Airlines' recovery stands out,
18:09not for its speed, but for its discipline.
18:13And leadership is not the Group Managing Director alone.
18:16It is leaders at every level must be able to unite.
18:22So, the biggest challenge of at least my part as a Group Managing Director
18:31is how to stitch this leadership at all levels together.
18:36And it's not easy.
18:38And there are instances that you see people that doesn't make that cut.
18:43So, if they don't,
18:46then if they're not able to stitch themselves together,
18:50I believe very strongly then that that's a painful part
18:53that you just have to cut the umbilical cord.
18:56And that's a painful journey.
18:58Hard matrices is given,
19:01but for Malaysia Airlines,
19:05and specifically here at Malaysia Air Vision Group
19:08to be where we are today,
19:10is driven a lot,
19:12I would say a big chunk of it is by people,
19:15people that lead,
19:17people that execute,
19:18and the people that is committed to deliver our ambition.
19:22and pivoting,
19:25gravitate on two core principles,
19:27sustainable,
19:29commercially sustainable,
19:31and nation building.
19:33And as a team,
19:35not just as a person,
19:36not just a small group,
19:37but as a total ecosystem of Malaysia Air Vision Group,
19:41we are very clear on our plan.
19:43Right?
19:44As I mentioned,
19:45we do have a lot of diverse staff in our employees,
19:49in our company,
19:50and the focus,
19:51one of the main important things that we have to focus
19:54will be on our NABLA,
19:55is on our people.
19:56When I said,
19:57with regards to our people,
19:58the four areas that I am looking into,
20:01so that we are able to drive our people,
20:03to run together with us,
20:04so that we are able to grow in LWB 3.0,
20:07is about the culture.
20:09We need to have the right culture mindset,
20:11that the people,
20:12when I said grow a NABLA,
20:14it's not just about having more aircraft.
20:16I've mentioned to you that we have purchased more than 95 aircraft,
20:20and eventually,
20:21in the next eight years,
20:22we'll see an incremental of about 30% of our aircraft.
20:25Today,
20:26we've got 89 aircraft,
20:27inshallah.
20:28In another eight years,
20:29we should be having 116 aircraft.
20:31In the context of our Kager,
20:32we're seeing about growth at about 7% to 8% yearly,
20:36up to 2030.
20:37So,
20:38it's not just that kind of growth.
20:40More importantly to me,
20:41is who is running the growth.
20:43And when we said,
20:44the running of the growth,
20:45is the people in itself.
20:46So, the focus of the people,
20:48is so important.
20:49The growth in the people,
20:50is about the mindset growth.
20:52When I say about the mindset growth,
20:54is how can our people become a bit more agile?
20:56How can our people become flexible?
20:59How can our people be empowered,
21:01to make better decisions?
21:03So that we can simplify,
21:04and we can address our customers.
21:06Right?
21:07And the focus is,
21:08to me,
21:09is people,
21:10business,
21:11and finance,
21:12is an outcome.
21:13If we address the people correctly,
21:15the people will treat the business correctly.
21:17If we address the business correctly,
21:19we will have the finance outcome,
21:20as per what we targeted.
21:21And,
21:22and in 2030,
21:23Nabila,
21:24to mention to you about growth,
21:25we're seeing a 2x,
21:27or double of our top line revenue,
21:29that we plan.
21:30We plan to have,
21:31and register,
21:32close to about 25 billion ringgit,
21:34top line revenue in 2030.
21:36So that's an aspiration that we've got.
21:38So not only to have a target of finance,
21:41but we have to be recognized,
21:43as the national carrier,
21:45and we want to be there,
21:47as even a top time,
21:48top global airline in the world,
21:50in that context.
21:52So to ensure that we can withstand all those turbulence,
21:55and challenges that we've got in the industry,
21:57we need to be a resilient company.
22:00One of the things that we have to do in LTPP 3.0,
22:03is to grow our ancillary businesses.
22:05We do have the likes of our MRO,
22:07MRO meaning our maintenance provider,
22:09which is our engineering.
22:10We have to be strong in our maintenance provider,
22:12so that we can create more ancillary revenue,
22:14through all these engineering activities.
22:16We can have a third-party aircraft coming to our hangars,
22:19we do have our hangars over here in Kelly.
22:21We are building our own,
22:23insyaAllah our catering facilities,
22:25as Greenfield,
22:26and insyaAllah will be completed in 2028.
22:29So this is to be able that we are able to
22:33to write through all the stimulus that we've got in the industry.
22:36So generally those are the four pillars and the four focus
22:39that we have got in the LTPP 3.0.
22:41Having said that,
22:42those are just the plan.
22:44We need to have the enablers, right?
22:46So in MAG,
22:47our core focus in terms of our enablers,
22:49is our people, right?
22:51Today we've got 14,386 people.
22:55Business Plan 3.0
22:57sets the direction for the next chapter,
22:59focused on resilience,
23:01relevance,
23:02and long-term value.
23:03The goal now is not recovery,
23:05but competitiveness for the next decade.
23:09I have known him for more than 30 over years.
23:12I was a co-pilot to him for many, many years back then,
23:17and I know him as a person.
23:19He is a very nice man,
23:21and I am humbled and honored to be trusted,
23:26to take this position,
23:27and to rally about 40,000 people that we have got in MAG,
23:31to ensure that we can bring MAG,
23:33or Malaysian Aviation Group,
23:34to the next level.
23:35Captain Nizam is a man of courage, right?
23:39And it has been interesting to follow him,
23:43and to work with him in the past six-plus years for me.
23:47And, you know, I will always cherish the memories.
23:51I will always cherish the fact that he trusted us,
23:55the senior leadership team,
23:57to do what was necessary to turn around the business
23:59and fix it.
24:00Think about it, right?
24:02We came out from a really challenging crisis
24:05of the dual crisis.
24:06We've gone through a pandemic,
24:08and I think it requires leadership that is able
24:12to really understand all the different moving parts
24:16of the organization,
24:18that's able to stay calm under pressure,
24:21and that's really able to ground us
24:24as the world is shifting so incredibly fast.
24:28And I think that's the leadership we appreciate the most.
24:31But having said that,
24:33it is a journey for him,
24:34because he's still here.
24:35At 65, it's for him to enjoy his life.
24:38And I believe he's going to be a successful,
24:41not just a leader,
24:43but as a person as a whole.
24:45So all the best, Captain Nizam.
24:47This journey that Malaysia Airlines
24:49undertook over the last seven, nine years,
24:53is a lesson that Malaysians should really ask themselves.
25:00Nothing is lost until you put full energy focus,
25:07put your soul to it.
25:09And I always believe nothing is impossible until it's done.
25:14There is always a pathway.
25:18I am very well aware,
25:20and I am grounded.
25:22There's only one thing that I cannot change.
25:25Being a Muslim, I can't change the Quran.
25:28The rest beyond the Quran, I can change.
25:33I can transform it.
25:35And I am very confident that Malaysia Air Vision Group
25:40will thrive moving forward.
25:42Another lesson learned for Malaysians to look at,
25:47or a lesson learned from Malaysia Airlines,
25:50is respecting one another.
25:53A whole diversity.
25:55This is what true Malaysians are all about.
25:58And for us to be a successful nation,
26:02we must be confronting,
26:05and able and wanting to challenge the status quo.
26:10Nothing is written,
26:11nothing is cast in stone,
26:13except, as I said, as a Muslim in the Quran.
26:16As a Muslim in the Quran.
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