Loke: Mavcom and CAAM merger will take months

SEPANG: The merger exercise involving the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) and the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) will take months to complete, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke (pic).

Confirming the merger, he said until then, it would be business as usual in Mavcom, where its 59 staff would continue to be employed and have their wages paid.

“After the Cabinet made the decision on Wednesday, I directed the ministry’s secretary-general to immediately inform Mavcom about the decision.

“We will set up a task force to look into the merger and decide on the mechanism of this restructuring as well as to take care of staff welfare. “This would take months of discussion and after that, we also have to repeal the Mavcom Act in Parliament, ” Loke said after launching the Ground Team Red (GTR) Air Cargo Hub here yesterday.

The minister was commenting on an earlier statement by Mavcom executive chairman Dr Nungsari Ahmad Radhi that the matter was decided by Cabinet without its consultation.

“The Cabinet only made the principal decision on Wednesday. Cabinet papers are secret and I can only talk about it after the decision is made. I am surprised that he (Dr Nungsari) is upset about this, ” said Loke.

The Cabinet, he added, decided on the merger because it would make aviation related processes more efficient.

“This is a consolidation exercise to cut down red tape. Airlines, air cargo companies or ground handling companies need to get approval from both CAAM and Mavcom first if they want to get a licence to operate.

“So, this is another layer of bureaucracy we want to cut down, ” he said.

The government, Loke said, had looked at best practices in other countries, including Singapore, where all regulatory processes were parked under its Civil Aviation Authority. “This move will transform and empower CAAM, ” he said.

On the Air Cargo Hub, Loke said the facility would help strengthen Malaysia’s goal of being a regional logistics hub.

“I was told that with the opening of this 93,000sq ft facility, together with GTR’s existing warehouse space of 55,000 sq ft, it will be able to handle 300,000 tonnes of air freight annually.

“This hub also has a purpose-built 10,000sq feet cold-chain facility for specialised handling targeted at perishable and pharmaceutical products as well as special handling rooms for dangerous goods, pets and valuable cargo.

Source: TheStar