Transport minister says he didn’t see it coming

KUALA LUMPUR: The resignation of Malaysia Airlines Bhd chief executive officer (CEO) Peter Bellew came as a surprise to Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

Liow said he had yet to read the report on Bellew’s resignation, adding that he did not see it coming.

“I have not received the report (on Bellew’s resignation), so I will have to wait for it first.

“It was shocking, because I didn’t receive any hints. So, I’d like to find out the details first,” he said at the Malaysian Associated Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Deepavali open house here.

Present were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak and Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim.

It was reported that Bellew had tendered his resignation on Tuesday, midway through a three-year contract that was supposed to end in June 2019.

Bellew, who joined the national carrier in 2015 as chief operating officer (COO) before replacing Christoph Mueller as CEO in July last year, is returning to Ryanair in Ireland as the budget airline’s COO on Dec 1.

When asked on who will replace Bellew, Liow said the decision would depend on Khazanah Nasional Bhd, which owned Malaysia Airlines.

“We are confident Malaysia Airlines’ transformation will continue irrespective of who is the CEO or COO. Transformation is the agenda and it is doing okay.

“The resignation will not affect the airline, but we have to find out the reason first.”