Time to restore people's confidence in Malaysia Airlines, says Dr Wee

KUALA LUMPUR: Priority must be placed on reassuring Malaysians and regaining their confidence in Malaysia Airlines’s safety, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.

The MCA president denied that his statement regarding a spate of incidents from 2023 to this year involving Malaysia Airlines (MAS) aircraft caused panic or questioned the national carrier’s professionalism.

“Show me where in my post was factually incorrect. Which part of my statement has accused Malaysia Airlines to the point of causing panic?” he asked in an X post on Tuesday (Aug 27).

Dr Wee urged Transport Minister Anthony Loke and the Malaysian Aviation Group (MAG) to prioritise reassuring passengers on the carrier’s safety, citing the public’s alarmed reactions to show the scale of the issue.

“Who needs to take responsibility? The answer is clearly the Ministry of Transport, as the regulatory body of the aviation industry and MAG, as the owner of Malaysia Airlines,” he said.

He said a paradigm shift was needed to review the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) systems for all MAS aircraft.

On Aug 23, the former transport minister posted a list of seven incidents faced by the national carrier on his Facebook account from Jan 9 last year to the Aug 16 Melbourne - Kuala Lumpur flight which forced an emergency landing at Alice Springs.

The post led to Loke warning his predecessor not to create panic over an alleged confidence crisis in MAS due to the spate of incidents involving its aircraft.

While acknowledging the public’s concern, Loke said there is no need to question MAS and MAG’s professionalism in handling the situation.

Loke also announced in a press conference on Monday that a special audit by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia on technical issues plaguing Malaysia Airlines will be presented to the Cabinet on Wednesday (Aug 28).

He had said that the audit had been done before the recent spate of issues that affected the national carrier.

Dr Wee also urged the group to improve its customer service based on the public’s complaints.

“There have been numerous complaints about MAG customer service, with issues like long wait times or unanswered calls.

“It would be beneficial for MAG to invest in improving their customer service systems and capabilities.”