Monday, January 29, 2007

Leasing An Airbus

This interesting piece of news caught my eye as I was browsing through today's paper. The title of the article was 'Government leasing Airbus'. The Prime Minister was denying some reports that the goverment had purchased a corporate jet for his personal use. He said the goverment was only leasing an Airbus from Penerbangan Malaysia Bhd. which would be cheaper than buying the plane. He also mentioned that the AIrbus was not only for his use but would also be used by the king.

The interesting part of this news is PMB (Penerbangan Malaysia Bhd.)is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the Government’s investment arm. So, indirectly the government is still buying the plane and leasing to itself!

Who gets to use the plane when it is not used by the Prime Minister or the King? Is it left idle in the hangar? Is this a win-win situation for both parties? I am not good at accountancy or in doing business, and that is probably why it doesn't seem to make sense to me.

1 comment:

Siva said...

From the politician's point of view, I don't think the words 'prudent' and 'spending' should be in the same sentence.. hahaha.