Mara says it has taken appropriate action over missing pilot training funds

KUALA LUMPUR: Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) says it has taken appropriate action against those involved in malpractice after the media reported that millions in pilot training funds had gone missing.

In a statement on Wednesday (Oct 23), Mara said it had taken appropriate action by lodging police reports and initiating legal proceedings against those involved.

Mara also said it had established a partnership with the Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) on April 15, 2018, to produce professional, highly skilled pilot trainees.

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It said that this strategic collaboration successfully placed 39 Malaysian students in the Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) programme at the Czech Aviation Training Centre (CATC) in the Czech Republic.

Of these, 38 students have secured employment with Malaysia Airlines (MAS) immediately after completing their studies, while another student has continued studying locally and is expected to graduate by 2025.

Recent reports stated that a Malaysian-based company was entrusted with carrying out financial transactions with the CATC.

Several groups of cadet pilots, including the 39 Mara-sponsored students, enrolled through the company from 2019 to 2022, including those who were self-funded and those who obtained commercial bank loans, with fees ranging from RM400,000 to RM700,000 per person.

A father of a former pilot trainee, who wished to be referred to as Yusof (not his real name), said his son was among the Mara-sponsored students sent to Prague in November 2020.

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He said Mara allocated approximately RM441,000 for each trainee at the CATC in Prague.

The funds were given to the company to cover their tuition and accommodation fees.

However, the company failed to resolve the matter with CATC, leading Mara to enrol the students into local flight schools instead.

For those already in Prague, Mara provided additional funds for its sponsored students, including Yusof’s son.

However, self-funded students faced issues and some had to pay CATC directly, while others returned home without completing their training due to lack of funds.