Paying court to the "King of Good Times".

Paying court to the "King of Good Times". Photo: Reuters

The party may be over for India's "King of Good Times", Vijay Mallya, the flamboyant tycoon whose Kingfisher Airlines is threatened with collapse.

Mr Mallya's billionaire lifestyle has been a symbol of India's soaring fortunes since he launched his airline in 2005, and a factor in his reputation as "India's Richard Branson".

He owns a fleet of luxury vintage cars, bought his own Formula One racing team, Force India, sails a $100 million yacht in the Arabian Sea, and hand picks "models" as hostesses for his Kingfisher Airlines.

Fast cars and luxury yachts ... once the playthings of Vijay Mallya.

Fast cars and luxury yachts ... once the playthings of Vijay Mallya. Photo: Reuters

Other models adorn the glossy pages of his Kingfisher Calendar while the garden of one his luxury homes is said to feature a life-size statue of the Bollywood actress and Big Brother star Shilpa Shetty.

Three years ago, Kingfisher Airlines launched a Mumbai to London Heathrow service to much fanfare, which has been followed up with a Delhi to London flight.

His acquisitions have included Britain's Whyte and Mackay distillers, which make the Dalmore and Jura single malt whiskies, and the French winemaker Bouvet-Ladubay, one of the world's largest producers of sparkling wine.

But today the "King of Good Times" appears to have lost his touch as the airline that lent glamour to his otherwise portly, primped appearance has nosedived under mounting debts.

Both private banks and government officials have ruled out a rescue package for India's second largest carrier. Kingfisher is reported to owe more than $1 billion in loans to Indian banks and is losing key staff as salaries go unpaid.

Travel agents are now advising passengers to boycott the airline in favour of rivals after a slew of cancelled Kingfisher flights.

Signs that Mr Mallya's debt crisis was mounting emerged earlier this year when he announced he was closing the low-budget Kingfisher Red airline to focus on a "full-service" operation.

But fears for the airline have intensified amid increased flight cancellations.

Last month, Mr Mallya put on a brave face to announce a deal for a rival tycoon to become an equal partner in Force India in exchange for a £60 million investment on the eve of India's first Grand Prix.

Leading Indian business figures said last night that they had sympathy for Mr Mallya, but it was a symptom of India's wider growth story.

Gopichand Hinduja, of the London-based Hinduja Group, said Mr Mallya had been a good brand ambassador for India, and that it was unfortunate Kingfisher had hit problems just as doubts over the country's "growth story" had halted major foreign investments.

He said airlines such as Kingfisher were key strategic assets for Indian business and tourism but all but a few were losing money because of high fuel prices and taxes.

The government should rescue the whole airline industry, he said.

"Vijay Mallya is a good friend of my family and has always presented India well. There should be a policy which can help with loan repayments," he said.

Subodh Agrawal, the London-based merchant banker who finances Indian takeovers, said while Mr Mallya might be flagging now, he believed Kingfisher's cancellations were part of a strategy to reconfigure his airliners and complete his withdrawal from the loss-making low-cost flight sector.

"India is going to suffer, but it isn't a story which has gone bad. In the long run the growth potential is huge. It is a smart move by Mallya to get out of low cost airlines," he said.

The "King of Good Times" would be back, he added.

Telegraph, London

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The way UMNOputras and Sultans are skimming our money, we do curse and pray that Allah will show them the way similar to Vijay Mallya.

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Methinks this Sultan of Selangor does too much AGAIN!




Delusion of Grandeur

The fixed, false belief that one possesses
superior qualities such as genius, fame,
omnipotence, or wealth. Can be a symptom
of paranoid or manic disorders (and
sometimes dementia). People with this
disorder also have a taste for the finer,
more extravagant things/actions. This
disorder is commonly known as megalomania.
Sometimes drug abuse can intensify or
bring on these sorts of episodes. This is
a very dangerous condition.

GILLIAN FOURNIER


It irks me to think that the Sultan of Selangor
has Delusion of Grandeur with regard to the
role he plays in the governance of HIS state
Selangor! HIS state Selangor? And his role as
head of Islam in HIS state?




PETALING JAYA: It’s a bitter pill to swallow for many
Selangor assemblymen now that the government may
have lost control over the state’s Islamic administrative
matters and the estimated tens of millions of ringgit in
annual zakat collections.
The amendments made in July seemingly allowed the
state’s Islamic Religious Council (MAIS) to be
accountable only to the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan
Sharafudin Idris Shah, bypassing the state government
in the process.
The amendments affected the Administration of the
Religion of Islam (State of Selangor) Enactment 2003.




FMT previously reported that Selangor state
assemblymen allegedly received a letter from the
Sultan at the July 11 state assembly sitting,
commanding them to agree to these amendments.
Caught by surprise and fearing a constitutional
crisis in the event of a refusal, Pakatan state
assemblymen allowed the amendments to be
passed without a hitch.
Currently, the Sultan has the power to appoint
the MAIS chairman, deputy chairman and “not
fewer than eight other members” to the council.
MAIS also consists of five ex-officio (automatic)
members – the state secretary, state legal adviser,
state financial officer, the mufti and the chief police
officer.
According to the anonymous state assemblyman,
the building and administration of mosques and suraus
were also affected by the amendments.
JAIS, as well as the state government, he claimed,
would have to spend money to build them, while the
administration of these buildings would fall under
MAIS’ purview.


Who told him that Selangor is HIS state? Just
because he was born into the role of Sultan
does not make any state HIS state!

Somebody better tell him that the life of
decadence he now leads is bankrolled by
the taxes paid by the people of Selangor
and others. Somebody better tell him that
he does not earn his keep!


Like the mistresses being kept by BN politicians,
he too is being kept in clover and grandeur by
the hard earned money from others! And while
these mistresses gives sexual pleasure and
gratification to their masters this Sultan of
Selangor is a parasite of the highest order for
he never gives anything back to his benefactors.

And like the over 1000 parasites that can wreck
havoc on our bodies and live all over the human
body - in the blood and all organs including the
brain and in our eyes and sinus and anus – this
Sultan of Selangor must be put in his place before
he wrecks havoc over HIS state of Selangor by his
dalliances into the politics of HIS state!

The parasite genital protoza lives in the female
vagina and urethra and causes a slightly yellow
discharge with itching and burning. I think it is
time that this parasite of a Sultan go find HIS female
vagina and make like a parasite and stay out of
matters that does not concern him.

By the manner he chooses to lives his sordid life
he has forfeited any right to have anything to do
with Islam in HIS state! Do you want the head of
Islam in Selangor to fornicate around with ladies
of dubious persuasion? I believe that ISLAM forbids
what this Sultan is now doing – fornicating around
– so why is he allowed to meddle in matters of Islam?

Woi Sultan go stand in front of the mirror and see
yourself as others see you! A useless appendage
of the Malays race that contributes towards nothing
more then the decline and fall of the Malays.

What dignity you could possibly bring to your
throne was lost many years ago when you choose
to live your life no better then the life of those
cursed and spoilt with the dubious honor of having
other people pay for the useless life they lead. You
have earned not a single cent to pay for the useless
life you lead then, now and for the foreseeable future.

Before you are further embarrassed by the exposure
of your past and present follies I would suggest that
you stop to think whether doing the bidding of
UMNO will do you any good. You simply do not have
the acumen to understand that you are being used
by UMNO for its own ends. True you do have need
of the few millions here and the few millions there
that UMNO throws your way every now and then
but I would suggest that you are already living the
good life being a parasite. Begging for the few
millions here and the few million there that UMNO
throws your way will not do you any good once
the people decides that it is time that they do
away with you and your parasitic way!

So Sultan cease and desist your interference
in the governance of YOUR state! I was born in
Segambut and Selangor is MY state. I do not want
the likes of you to think that I will be quiet when
you begin to have these delusion of grandeur
thinking that you are a reborn Sultan of Selangor
who has come riding on a white stallion to save
Selangor from a PKR state government and return
it back to UMNO. It would be far better for you to
be like a stallion and go service the mares that are
waiting in the stables – is that not what you like
doing now?

Step back and stop yourself from thinking that you
would want to play any role in the government of
Selangor. For now we will put up with you being a
parasite in our midst –though unlike the other
parasites – it would seem that you lead a very
comfortable and decadent life style. Be like a
tree and make yourself inconspicuous and stay
out of our consciousness. To do otherwise might
invite the wrath of the people in YOUR state and
might shorten your rule as Sultan. Understand?