PETALING JAYA: Capital A Bhd chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has credited the late Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik as a pivotal figure in AirAsia’s history, revealing that the budget airline owes its early survival to the former transport minister’s belief and intervention.
Reflecting on the early days of taking over the airline, Fernandes shared a defining moment when he gatecrashed a party at the Equatorial Hotel just to get a moment of Dr Ling’s time.
“When I saw him, we only had two planes. I gatecrashed the party and told him my story. He didn’t know me, but he listened to our story and said, ‘Okay, I will help’,” Fernandes recounted.
True to his word, Dr Ling facilitated a crucial meeting between Fernandes and then-prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
“He got me a meeting with Tun Mahathir, and then we grew. He gave AirAsia the chance to survive, and we will never forget his contribution. Malaysians benefit a lot from what he did for us, and now, most people can fly,” he said.
Fernandes described the late MCA president as a great man who remained grounded despite his prominent position in government.
“He was always smiling, always humble, and always had time for everyone. No matter how senior he was, I was a nobody. I had just bought AirAsia with two planes, but he gave me a lot of time and patience. I will never forget that, and I respect him a lot,” he added.
When asked why the seasoned politician went out of his way to help a struggling new airline, Fernandes said Dr Ling recognised AirAsia’s potential to serve the everyday Malaysian.
“He told me, ‘People like AirAsia, so we must help. This is an airline that helps the small man.’ He said we were very popular and that we must try to help,” Fernandes said.
Crucially, Dr Ling possessed the foresight to see that AirAsia was not a threat to the national carrier, Malaysia Airlines (MAS), but rather a complement to the aviation ecosystem.
“He saw in the early days that MAS served the richer people, and we served the masses. I always told him that this is no competition; this is creating a new market. My tagline, ‘Now Everyone Can Fly’, is to allow people who had never flown before a chance to do so.
“Almost 25 years ago, he saw that we were not competition to MAS. It’s like a Mercedes-Benz and a Kancil — we are two different products serving two different markets. Both MAS and AirAsia contributed to the Malaysian economy, and he saw it early, which is great,” Fernandes explained.
Despite the warmth of their relationship, Fernandes humorously admitted that his own brash style might have occasionally tested the veteran politician's patience.
“I will miss him because he was always smiling, always positive, and never had a bad word for anybody. I’m sure I caused him a headache with my mouth to the press, because I’m very outspoken, as everyone knows.
“But we had a great relationship. We can never thank him enough for supporting and believing in AirAsia,” he said.
Dr Ling, who served as transport minister from Sept 1986 to May 2003, passed away peacefully at the age of 82 on Saturday (April 4).
