Despite the two tragedies that struck home, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) chief executive officer, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya is beaming with pride for the commitment shown by 20,000 Malaysia Airlines staff.

In an exclusive interview to Astro AWANI, he says that in spite of two of the national carrier’s planes -- MH370 and MH17 – meeting with tragedies last year in March and July respectively, employees remained steadfast and came together working way beyond the call of duty.

Excerpts from Ahmad Jauhari's exclusive interview with Astro AWANI:

Astro AWANI (AA): MH370 ... a year has passed and there is no clue of any evidence discovered, so far. Will the search continue for another year?

Ahmad Jauhari (AJ): We hope the government will carry on this search until the aircraft is found.

AA: The time frame … a year, two years or three years... are we prepared to go the whole distance?

AJ: There will be experts and we will be guided and advised by them. I do hope that we will carry on until we find the answers.

AA: The perseverance to continue with the search, is the sentiment shared by the entire organisation?

AJ: I think not only MAS, but the family members, and the world needs answers.

AA: With your engagement with the next-of-kin from China, what are some of the recurring questions that has them dissatisfied ?

AJ: They’d ask “… why can’t we find the plane?” I think that’s a question we would also like to seek the answer for. We cannot give them any answer. It is very difficult since we cannot give an answer.

AA: Did you ever foresee a calamity as such would occur?

AJ: I think if you ask any airline CEOs what is their worst nightmare, it’s actually losing an aircraft with people on board. In my experience, we lost not just one but two in the span of four months.

AA: How has the tragedy affected the organisation?

AJ: Obviously any accidents would affect an airline. It has affected MAS but we have to recover first from this. We have 20,000 very dedicated people who have remained steadfast to face adversity. They are performing their duties and some even go beyond their job scopes.

AA: How has this tragedy shaped and changed you, from a professional and personal level? Let’s start with at a professional level.

AJ: From a professional level, it’s an incident that has galvanised the employees of Malaysia Airlines. We’ve seen people performing well beyond their duty. I’ve seen talents in handling crisis, the amount of compassion that came out from the staff to aid the family members. Internally, we have a great set of people.

AA: Can you cite an example of the staff going above and beyond their normal routines?

AJ: Caregiving – we would normally sit down with family members. It is not easy. We have to help, listen to them and take care of their problems. We have close to 300 staff involved in the caregiving of the MH370 passengers and crew.

AA: On a personal level, how has this tragedy affected you?

AJ: We have lost many lives. In a way, we begin to understand that we are all very fragile. The unexpected can happen. We must be prepared for it. When the challenge is ahead, we have to face it.

AA: Where do you go from here, after the takeover by ‘MAS NewCo’ later this year?

AJ: I just want to take a break.

AA: Would you still be involved in the corporate world?

AJ: Whatever it is ... I would consider whatever options available after my break.