Ekonomi
SUNYINYA KLIA
TJ AsiaWeek: KLIA -
(Bukan) Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa
By Kapal Berita 28/10/2000 9:34
pm Sat
Terjemahan Ringkas sambil memberi komen:
KLIA - (Bukan) Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Yang DiSangka
[http://webantu.cjb.net/] Rencana ini amat menarik, malah lebih menarik
jika diterjemahkan kesemuanya sekali. Di saat PM Malaysia, Mahathir seronok
menghabiskan duit berbilion banyaknya dengan projek berprestij serta mendabik
dada dengan kenyataan pulihnya ekonomi, apa yang tampak tidak menggambarkan
sedemikian. Kadar penyewaan ruang pejabat di menara-menara sekitar Kuala
Lumpur kini kini menduduki tempat terbawah sekali. Betul - Malaysia membina
kesemua menara-menara itu, tetapi tiada sesiapa yang mengisi ruang di dalamnya!
Kosongnya Petronas Twin Towers: Statistik terakhir menunjukkan hanya 60%
menara Petronas terisi, itupun ramai yang berkerut dahi kerana pulangan
pelaburan tidak memuaskan. Jika Petronas sendiri tidak berada di dalam
bangunan itu, mungkin peratusnya akan semakin kecil lagi! Mungkin ia menjadi
bandar yang baru diserang JE! Sunyinya KLIA KLIA yang bernilai US 2.6 billion
itu kini kelihatan mengikut jejak menara Petronas. Ia nampak sibuk ketika
demam Formula One, tetapi selepas itu ia tinggal berdebu sahaja macam litar
itu juga.
Apa yang berlaku lain pula ragam sibuknya KLIA. Tentu
kita masih belum lupa Sanusi Junid melayangkan buahnya kepada pekerja KLIA.
Bila ruangnya besar penatlah para pekerja tetapi nampaknya pak menteri
tidak boleh bersabar walaupun sedikit sahaja. Semua Sudah Terbang Lari
Dua minggu lepas British Airways sudah angkat kaki dari KLIA. Sebelum itu
Qantas dan Ansett serta Lufthansa turut berundur dari menerbangi ruang
KLIA. Selain mereka, beberapa syarikat gergasi penerbangan US turut meminggiri
KLIA. Ini termasuklah United, American, Swissair , Air France dan SAS.
Maka KLIA kini hanya penuh dengan penerbangan kelas kedua (2nd tier) antarabangsa
sahaja. Lapangan terbang Bangkok, walaupun lebih buruk dan tua, masih dapat
menawan dan melayan 3 KALI GANDA kapalterbang dari KLIA! Tentunya ada sesuatu
yang istimewa walaupun ianya buruk.... ia tetap berguna!
Prioriti dan Impian Yang Tidak Menjadi Lee Kuan Yew pernah
berkata prioriti utama negara beliau ialah membina imej dan kecekapan kerana
lapangan terbang itu adalah impresi pertama pelancung asing ke sesebuah
negara. Nampaknya negara kita tidak memandang kata-kata itu dengan semua
panca-indera yang ada - Kualiti, bukannya keluasan berapa kaki. Sewaktu
Mahathir merancang KLIA 12 tahun lepas, objektif beliau adalah untuk menjadikan
KL sebagai satu pusat (hub) penerbangan. Ketika itu Singapura, Hong Kong
dan Bangkok merupakan pusat penerbangan di Timur Asia. Walaupun impian
itu tidak menjadi, KLIA cuba juga sedikit untuk menarik perhatian dan mencuri
pelanggan.
Sebenarnya lapangan terbang itu bukannya untuk mengisi
manusia yang bergelar penumpang sahaja. Pasaran kargo memainkan peranan
juga. Pelik tapi benar, pengekspot Malaysia sendiri menggunakan khidmat
Lapangan terbang Changi di Singapura untuk menghantar barangan kerana ia
lebih murah! Begitu juga dengan penumpang yang mengambil penerbangan transit
shuttle - mereka memilih untuk singgah ke Singapura. Faktor Untuk Berjaya
Kejayaan Bangkok patut dijadikan tauladan. Walaupun ianya buruk, ia mendapat
pulangan yang memuaskan. Mungkin Malaysia perlu memberikan kebebasan kepada
semua kapalterbang untuk singgah di KLIA dengan polisi langit terbuka.
Melalui polisi ini, sebarang syarikat kapalterbang boleh mengambil kargo
atau penumpang bila-bila sahaja. Namun begitu, jika ini berlaku ia akan
membuatkan nasib MAS yang memang sudah sarat dengan hutang itu semakin
kronik - sehingga ia mungkin di bail-out pula. Walaupun begitu, sekurang-kurangnya
ia akan dapat memberi nafas kepada KLIA supaya tidak tersepit.
Jelaslah modal yang dilaburkan oleh Malaysia itu tidak
menghasilkan sesuatu yang di idam-idamkan. Tetapi ia mungkin dapat mengelakkan
KLIA daripada menjadi satu lapangan terbang yang paling mahal "dibualkan"
nasibnya di seantara dunia.
-TJ Kapal Berita-
Source: ASIAWeek: http://www.cnn.com/ASIANOW/asiaweek/business/2000/10/27/
Business: Malaysia's (Not So) International Airport This is One White Elephant
That May Not Fly By ASSIF SHAMEEN October 27, 2000 Web posted at 11.00
a.m. Hong Kong time, 11.00 p.m. EDT Build and they shall come. That was
Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamed's strategy in the pre-Crisis
era. Tens of billions of dollars were spent on prestige projects, from
highways to skyscrapers to gleaming shopping malls. Today, while Malaysia
claims that its economy is fast recovering, its capital Kuala Lumpur has
the highest vacancy rate for office towers, shopping malls and hotels among
major Asian cities. True, Malaysians have built them all. But nobody's
interested in filling them. While Malaysia's billion-dollar 88-storeyed
landmark Petronas Tower (60% occupied at last count) doesn't quite look
like a white elephant, even though it is nearly half empty and may never
provide its owners a decent return on their investment, the US$2.6 billion
Kuala Lumpur International Airport or KLIA is now decidedly starting to
look like one, though. Built an hour and half drive away from the Malaysian
capital in what was once a palm oil plantation near Sepang, KLIA has never
taken off since it opened over two and half years ago. Two weeks ago, British
Airways suspended all services to and from KLIA. BA's decision to pull
out of the airport follows similar decisions by Australia's Qantas and
Ansett Airlines and Germany's Lufthansa over the past two years. Other
major global airlines like United, American, Swissair, Air France, and
SAS have all avoided flying to Malaysia. KLIA is now reduced to receiving
a handful of Asian airlines, as well as some second-tier international
carriers. Bangkok airport, which caters to twice as many passengers each
day, is used by three times as many foreign airlines as KLIA. The gap between
them is widening in favor of the Thai capital, even though it has a tired,
old and cramped airport. Singapore's Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew once
said one of his top initial priorities was to make Singapore's airport
the best there was in Asia, because an airport is often the first thing
foreigners see when they land in a country. First impressions are almost
always the most lasting ones, he reasoned. Malaysian leaders may have taken
that advice too literally. When Mahathir first decided to move Malaysia's
main international airport from Subang to Sepang some 12 years ago, his
objective was to turn Kuala Lumpur into a regional hub. East Asia already
has several airline hubs Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok. Another hub
so close to the existing three hubs seemed like a non-starter. But Mahathir's
aim wasn't to displace Singapore or Hong Kong, just to take some business
away from them. Still, airports aren't just about passengers. They are
also about cargo. KLIA lags way behind in cargo, because Malaysian exporters
tend to truck their goods to Singapore's Changi, from where th! ey can
reach global markets more cost effectively. Passengers to and from Malaysia
are doing the same by taking the shuttle flight to Singapore to connect
to other global destinations. With the advent of super jumbos like the
new Airbus A3XX or Boeing's 747-Stretch X, airports around the world will
be further divided into hubs and spokes. Hubs will be airports where all
the major regional and global airlines fly to and from, while local and
regional airlines take passengers to nearby spokes. Singapore and Hong
Kong have already carved their niches as Asia's premier hubs. Bangkok is
actually bigger than Singapore and carried 28 million passengers over the
past 12 months compared to Singapore's 27 million and Hong Kong's 30 million.
KLIA, which is 63rd biggest airport in the world and 11th biggest in Asia
carried just 15 million passengers during the past 12 months. The success
of Bangkok airport as a hub proves an important point. I believe you
don't
need to spend billions on infrastructure to get a lot of business. So what
is Kuala Lumpur to do about its US$2.6 billion investment? Malaysian officials
still seem to believe they can turn their little spoke into a huge hub.
An annual Grand Prix fills the airport on the morning after, but it can't
turn a spoke into a hub all year round. Malaysians are talking about offering
lower landing fees and other enticements to lure foreign carriers to KLIA.
But I believe they might want to try open sky policy. Let any airline land
at KLIA and take passengers or cargo to anywhere it wants to at any time.
Sure, it might force the already debt-ridden flag-carrier Malaysia Airlines
into further financial disarray and even necessitate a state-sponsored
Malaysian-style bailout. But it would dig KLIA from the hole it's stuck
in. Malaysian capital might not become a hub it has always wanted to be.
But it might just prevent KLIA from becoming world's most expensive "spoke"
airport. Link Reference : Asiaweek : http://www.cnn.com/ASIANOW/asiaweek/business/2000/10/27/
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