KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 7): The government's decision to dissolve the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) and transfer its functions to the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) does not address the "pressing issue" of getting Malaysia's air safety rating back to Category 1, says the independent economic regulator for the aviation industry.
"The crucial issue facing Malaysia’s aviation industry today is CAAM’s downgrade by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from Category 1 to Category 2. We do not see this decision (merger) as addressing that pressing issue," Mavcom said in a statement today.
It also dismissed as baseless claims that the Mavcom-CAAM merger will assist in the financial standing of CAAM and address FAA’s downgrade of CAAM.
"The commission reiterates that it was not consulted prior to the merger decision being taken. Had that been done, the Cabinet would have had the benefit of a fuller range of views in arriving at its decision," it added.
The aviation regulator was responding to the government's announcement last month to dissolve Mavcom and transfer its functions to CAAM.
Mavcom said it will, nevertheless, work towards transitioning its legal functions into CAAM in the coming months.
"We hope that the Ministry of Transport will provide its utmost cooperation to ensure that the process will be carried out in an equitable manner.
"The commission further hopes, for the sake of the aviation industry in Malaysia, that the resulting single civil aviation regulator is one that is properly independent, uncorrupted by regulatory capture or political interference, and sets standards of integrity and professionalism," it said.
CAAM was downgraded from Category 1 to Category 2 by the FAA last November. It has vowed to regain its status as a Category 1 regulator within 24 months.