MH370: "We still need our captain" - MAS

But Malaysia Airlines (MAS) CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, or better known as ‘AJ’, is a man who hides his emotions well.

It was only when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, on March 24, announced the doomed fate of the MAS Boeing aircraft carrying 239 souls – that Ahmad Jauhari allowed everyone a glimpse into his heart. The 59-year-old was seen breaking down in tears and was photographed being comforted and hugged that day.

“Just a few weeks before this happened, his mother passed away when he was attending an airshow, he went for the funeral but soon rushed back to work,” said a source close to Ahmad Jauhari.

For someone who has yet to have time for his personal grief, suddenly thrust into the harsh media glare to be held responsible for such an extraordinary disaster, Ahmad Jauhari has – and many would agree – handled the situation ‘quite well’.

“Not everybody could have coped, but he did,” says the source.

The straightforward way Ahmad Jauhari speaks during press conferences, cool and composed, saying each word thoughtfully, matter-of-factly, has been praised.

It was even made an example in class for a group of students studying public relations (PR).

“He has been very professional and it is quite amazing that he has survived up to today, despite the heavy load he carries for the nation,” says Malik Ridhwan of Taylor’s University, whose PR lecturer has been showing video clips of Ahmad Jauhari during press conferences.

While there is enormous support from those closer to him, and from many Malaysians as well, not everyone has been so kind to Ahmad Jauhari, a corporate veteran and licensed pilot who has helmed MAS since 2011.

"He is a nice fella but not necessarily a good CEO. He might have been a good boss at Malakoff and other industries, but this is something beyond him.

“He needs to show corporate responsibility, and resign, immediately,” says former MP Wee Choo Keong, a vocal critic of MAS for years.

Wee points to several ‘mistakes’ by MAS such as the slow flow of information and contradictions that were especially apparent in the early days – including differing times, passengers who did not board and their baggage, and so on.

“Kindness will translate into more incompetence for this country. As a CEO of a government linked and public listed company that hasn’t performed well, you can’t say resigning is purely personal matter,” says the politician, echoing other calls for Ahmad Jauhari’s head to roll.

The National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (NUFAN), which claims to represent 3,500 cabin crew at MAS, is also adamant that Ahmad Jauhari must go.

NUFAM pointed to the series of unfortunate mishaps that have followed the March 8 disappearance. These were, namely: a rescheduled flight to London due to technical difficulties, a MAS flight hitting a flock of ducks in Kathmandu, and a South Korean-bound flight diverted to Hong Kong after its aircraft generator failed.

The current crisis faced by MAS is not helped by its already dire financial situation. For the past three years, it has been bleeding money. Last year, it had lost RM1.17 billion amid high operating costs and lower revenue from airfares.

‘We need our captain’

These dark clouds, however, cannot dampen the spirits many who are counting on him, especially in MAS itself, who see him as their beacon of strength in this hour of need.

“Isn't it really unfair to ask him resign in the middle of this crisis? He is the man (to handle this), he has always been our captain, you can’t ask our captain to leave, because we need him,” says a source close to the company.

The source says that many within the company are "comforted by his presence at this time" as he remains confident, and has good insight about what's going on.

Even as the multinational search for the airliner that has been dubbed ‘most difficult in human history’ continues, Ahmad Jauhari himself remained steadfast in his stand that all talk of resigning should only come “later”.

“As far as my personal decision is concerned, I still have work to do here… we have a lot of work to do. The airline needs to get itself together and we intend to do that," Ahmad Jauhari said yesterday.

Questions still remain of Ahmad Jauhari’s performance, and it has so far has been compared to his predecessors. Would someone else have done better?

For one journalist who has covered aviation for years, Ahmad Jauhari is a man of few words, and was overshadowed by those before him.

“Compared to the man before him, Tengku Datuk Sri Azmil Zahruddin Raja Abdul Aziz, who knew his stuff, Ahmad Jauhari seemed more lost, was not on the ball, and did not micro manage as much,” said the journalist.

She said that Ahmad Jauhari was a difficult man for the media and would “run away” when there is a controversial issue.

“There was one incident when he literally walked away from reporters. That’s how he was like, he would rather disengage than engage you, " she said, but added that the CEO now seems to have stepped up.

"I think he is sincerely feeling for the family, perhaps his advisors are not doing enough for him, but his heart is in the right place.

Another journalist, an editor, disagrees that Ahmad Jauhari was unapproachable and said instead that he is "always humble, but can be cynical too"

“He is a marathon man so he is mentally strong, and he could handle things when he took over despite the company being in the red, so he was able to face all the negative press,” she adds, recounting the time she ran alongside Ahmad Jauhari in a marathon, a fitness buff who both runs and swims regularly.

However, his physical fitness could not hide the whole scenario that has taken a toll on his mental state.

At the daily press conferences, Ahmad Jauhari appears more silent than Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Department of Civil Aviation head Azharuddin Abdul Rahman.

“He looks so sad, like all the burden of the world is on him. If you show me his photos when he smiled in the past, I can’t recognise it at all,” says a journalist who has been covering the daily press briefings.

“He is very professional, very calm ,consistent, and composed all the time. The most level headed among those on stage.

"But despite that, we can see he is still human, he seems like a sincere person and wants what's best for the family and crew,” she added.

Former MAS CEO Tan Sri Dr Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman, who helmed MAS during the 1977 crash of the airline’s Boeing 737-200 plane in Tanjung Kupang, Johor, is confident that Ahmad Jauhari can pull through.

“I am sure he knows his job and would do his best,” he said.

“I think it is not fair for people to ask him to resign...this is not Malaysian culture, like in Japan, even hara-kiri to show shame. Right now he is repairing the damage, keeping up our image, that in itself is taking responsibility.”

Abdul Aziz says that his ‘junior’ of two decades has been doing quite well, especially for the family, despite the outcry by some.

“The beginning was a bit slow and not easy to organise things, but give them that benefit, I know that anybody would find it difficult to handle.

“I noticed at the press conferences, they don't answer to the satisfaction to the audience. There are no detailed reasons given for things. But at the same time I think it’s quite difficult to tell people what's going on when you really don’t know, it’s a real dilemma," Abdul Aziz said.

Perhaps the hardest dilemma for Ahmad Jauhari was when he made the difficult call to tell close to 1,000 families that the hope for any survivors on board was very slim.

For that, he now has to pay the price of angry relatives who cannot accept it until the wreckage is found. International pressure continues to mount for both Malaysia and MAS.

“He is exhausted from handling the crisis these past weeks, but he has kept his cool. He has hardly lost his temper, maybe only once.

“I can see that he continues to be very clear about everything. He is focused even with everything that has been going around,” said a source close to Ahmad Jauhari.

Even as Ahmad Jauhari tells everyone that it would take some time to rebuild MAS, those around him knows he would carry through. "He is not a quitter," they say.