By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, Oct 19: A TikTok clip shared by an employee of troubled airline MYAirline Sdn Bhd has claimed that staff members were left as shocked as travellers after the company abruptly suspended operations due to what it termed to be ‘financial difficulties’.
The clip shows her last day of work as the company concludes its final flight before abruptly suspending operations on Oct 12.
According to Cecilia Thirstcher’s (@cecilia_thirstcher00) TikTok video which was uploaded on Friday (Oct 13), she wrote that on Oct 11 at 11pm, the management had informed the staff that all flights scheduled for the following day had been cancelled.
“On Oct 12 at 3.30am, they (the management) said (the) company (was) ‘offline’.
“On Oct 12 at 4.37am, arrival BKI 8806. Our last flight, and yes, we still performed our duties.
“On Oct 12 at 7am, they (the management) asked us (to) ‘kosong kan office’ (vacate the office).”
The viral clip has received over 600,000 views and 18,000 likes on TikTok. Many users on the platform have expressed sympathy towards the employees in the video.
@cecilia_thristcher00 2nd time heart broken in this industry ! #airasia #airasiax retrenchment 31st Dec 2020 & #MYairline suspended operations 12 Oct 2023 . What next ??
One netizen said, “MyAirline seriously has the best service and the best price. Why did this suddenly happen? I was also surprised that it closed suddenly.”
Another one wrote, “Respect to all of you cabin and ground crew of MYAirline (directors excluded). Some still gave their best even without being duly paid.”
Meanwhile, one user commented, “This means that even the staff didn’t know this (airline was about to suspend services),” to which Cecilia replied with another clip.
She wrote, “We didn’t know. From last month we focused on internal issues that we are still fighting for and still hoping for until now. Until 5.18am, Oct 12 , an email came in saying ‘work from home’. We haven’t been thrown out yet. Our status is still MYAirline staff. Unless we choose to resign. Maybe some of us are looking for a part-time job or new job, trust me, we do because our commitment from last month had to be put on hold.”
@cecilia_thristcher00 Replying to @amirnawawi #salamjumaat saya yg staff ni pun baru purchased for my lil brother’s ticket on monday tis week, for today flight BKI-KUL 8806 & KUL-BKI 8805 next week monday #staffairlines #MYairline #aviation
It was reported on Thursday (Oct 12) that MYAirline cited financial pressures as the primary reason for suspending its operations.
This was further complicated by the need to wait for shareholder restructuring and the revitalisation of the company’s capital.
On Monday (Oct 16), it was reported that following the decision to temporarily suspend operations, MYAirline will prioritise reimbursing affected passengers and paying employee salaries, both of which will be resolved within this year.
Several news outlets reported yesterday (Oct 18) that Datuk Allan Goh Hwan Hua, the co-founder of the financially troubled budget airline MYAirline, had been apprehended by the Bukit Aman Commercial Crimes Investigation Department.
The arrest of Goh, who is the majority shareholder of the troubled airline, was confirmed by Department’s director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf.
The police also arrested Goh’s wife, Neow Ean Lee, 55, and son, Goh Tze Han, 26.
All three individuals have been detained for a period of four days to aid in ongoing investigations, conducted under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing, and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (AMLA) 2001. — DayakDaily
