Put on hold Mueller's appointment - Kit Siang

DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang has called on the government to put on hold the appointment of Christoph Mueller as the new MAS chief executive officer.

He said bringing a foreigner to save the ailing MAS is an embarrassment of Malaysia’s talents, skills, expertise and intellectual prowess.

“Are Malaysians so bereft of talents, skills, experience and expertise that we have to go outside the country to source for a saviour for MAS?,” he asked in a media statement today.

Lim also called to establish a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on MAS to scout for a qualified Malaysians to be entrusted with the job of turning around MAS.

He said the Malaysian Airline System Berhad (Administration) Bill should also be referred to the PSC on MAS for further study and recommendations.

He said the presentation of the bill to the King for Royal Assent indefinitely until all matters concerning the rights, future employment security, wellbeing and livelihood of the about 20,0000 employees of MAS and their family are resolved.

“Why have we been increasingly reduced to a near “basket case” as to have to appoint an “orang putih” to save our national airline? Is there not a single soul in Malaysia who could be appointed to do the job?,” he questioned.

Former MAS CEO Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman had also said that there was no need to hire a foreign expert to save and run the ailing company.

He believed a local expert could do the job as well as Mueller, a German citizen and outgoing CEO of Dublin-based Aer Lingus Group Plc.

He said the focus now is not to restructure or recover MAS but to run the new company, MAS Newco.

Mueller’s appointment comes into force on Jan 1, 2015 but his contract with Aer Lingus will only come to end in May 2015.

Mueller’s appointment is among the 12 MAS restructuring exercise, announced by its biggest shareholder, Khazanah Nasional Berhad.

Mueller has vast experience in the aviation sector after turning around Aer Lingus which almost went bankrupt in 2009 due to fierce competition in the Europe market.