- Monday, May 06, 2024
By: Chandrashekar Bhat
AIRASIA chief executive Tony Fernandes faced blowback on social media after posting an image of himself receiving a massage without a shirt on while attending a management meeting.
His now-deleted photo on LinkedIn showed him sitting in an office conference room while having his shoulder massaged by a masked worker. In the post where praised his company’s culture, the Malaysian businessman said his colleague had suggested the treatment after he had a “stressful week”.
“Got to love Indonesia and AirAsia culture that I can have a massage and do a management meeting,” Fernandes wrote.
But his post sparked backlash with social media users criticising him for his “inappropriate” and “absurd” image and for flaunting his “privilege”.
The former owner of Queens Park Rangers Football Club, came up with another post on LinkedIn, saying, “I’m no stranger to crisis and I believe it can only make you stronger and wiser”.
“You know who your friends and supporters are and who would be the first to throw the stone,” Fernandes, who was educated at the UK’s Epsom College, said.
He took over AirAsia, a budget airline, from the Malaysian government in 2001.
