Loke: Mavcom and CAAM merger in best interest of aviation industry

PUTRAJAYA: The decision to merge the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) with the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) was made in the best interest of the aviation industry, says Transport Minister Anthony Loke (pic).

He said that Cabinet believes that the merger would empower CAAM financially as the aviation industry’s main regulator.

“The past government thought differently, but this present government thinks a merged entity will serve the aviation industry best.

“We want to empower the CAAM as the main regulator of the aviation industry. In many other countries, there is only one aviation authority that grants licenses. They do not have separate entities for that," said Loke.

He added that CAAM has its own independence, saying that although it is a government statutory body it is not a Transport Ministry department.

“They have their own board of directors and they set their own regulations. This merger will empower them, ” said Loke, at a press conference here after launching the #JOMTEKSI initiative by Touch ‘n Go at Putrajaya Sentral here.

Loke was asked to comment on criticism claiming that Mavcom’s merger with CAAM was not in the best interest of the public.

The minister also said in the long run, the merger would help upgrade Malaysia’s aviation safety rating back to Category 1.

Last month, Malaysia was downgraded to Category 2 by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last month, after CAAM failed the FAA’s aviation safety oversight audit.

“One of the reasons for the downgrade by the FAA was because CAAM does not have enough financial capability, in which it could not hire the best qualified technical personnel. When we do this merger, we will ensure that we would empower CAAM financially. They will be given more power in terms of setting fees.

“In the long run, they will have financial independence and can hire better, ” said Loke.

Loke said currently, the Transport Ministry will work towards executing “Cabinet’s mandate” which is to ensure that the Mavcom-CAAM merger will go well.

“We are moving ahead with the plan, and we will do the necessary work in the next few months to bring the amendment needed for this merger to Parliament, ” he said.