By Emmanuel Samarathisa
THE Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) has panned the Transport Ministry (MoT) for mooting a merger between the agency and fellow regulator the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM).
“The disbandment of Mavcom signals that MoT is not comfortable with having an independent economic regulator and is unlikely to extend such independence to a supposedly reformed CAAM,” Mavcom says in its Feb 11 report titled “The Economic Impact and Implications of the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia’s Rating Downgrade”.
On Dec 11, the Cabinet approved for the country’s aviation regulators to be under one entity.
This means Mavcom would be disbanded with its key functions being absorbed into CAAM.
MoT, which oversees CAAM, that day said the rationalisation exercise was aimed to improve efficiency.
But CAAM lacks “sufficient operating autonomy”, Mavcom said.
Section 18 of the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia Act 2017 states that CAAM may receive directions from the minister regarding the performance of its functions and powers, which indicates CAAM’s lack of independence from MoT.
Mavcom said that recent disputes between MoT and Mavcom over airport funding “imply that Mavcom’s functional autonomy may have been a bane to parties within MoT.”
Transport Minister Anthony Loke, in an interview with The Edge Malaysia, said he decided to “disinvite” Mavcom, accusing the agency of refusing to “execute a Cabinet decision.”
Mavcom had issued a point-by-point rebuttal to the minister’s accusations.
“While the minister stated that the MoT intends to make CAAM an autonomous regulator that is financially independent, it is unclear whether this autonomy also extends to CAAM’s ability to perform its functions (functionally independent),” Mavcom said. – Feb 11, 2020
