New Straits Times

ASSIST MALAYSIA AIRLINES, SAYS WEE

Former transport minister urges govt to probe into technical issues affecting airline

THE government must investigat­e and assist Malaysia Airlines with the technical issues it is facing after six incidents in the past two months, says a former transport minister.

“The public is questionin­g, ‘What has happened to Malaysia

Airlines? Is it safe to fly with Malaysia Airlines?’,” Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong said in a Facebook post.

“This seems to be a crisis of confidence among passengers in Malaysia Airlines, which is likely to damage the country’s reputation and potentiall­y lead to losses for Malaysia Aviation Group if these incidents continue.”

He said such a scenario would ultimately affect the country’s economy and this was why the government, particular­ly the Transport Ministry, must assist Malaysia Airlines to prevent more of such incidents.

The national carrier, he said, had encountere­d a series of flight incidents since the beginning of last year.

Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong

He listed the key events as following:

• Jan 9, 2023 — A Malaysia Airlines Airbus A330 experience­d a significan­t fuel system issue during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne, resulting in an emergency landing.

• April 3, 2023 — A Malaysia Airlines flight was forced to turn back to Kuala Lumpur Internatio­nal Airport (KLIA) shortly after take-off due to technical issues.

• July 10, 2023 — A Kuchingbou­nd flight had to abort take-off at KLIA due to technical issues.

• Sept 14, 2023 — A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-800 encountere­d a runaway excursion during take-off at Melbourne Airport.

• June 20, 2024 — A KL-bound flight from India made an emergency landing at Hyderabad Airport due to an engine problem.

• June 24, 2024 — A Bangkokbou­nd flight was forced to turn back to KLIA due to pressurisa­tion issues.

• Aug 16, 2024 — A Malaysia Airlines flight from Melbourne made an emergency landing in Alice Springs due to engine trouble.

• Aug 21, 2024 — A Shanghaibo­und flight was forced to turn back to KLIA due to pressurisa­tion issues.

Aside from these incidents listed by Wee, it was reported that a Jeddah-bound Malaysia Airlines flight had to turn back to KLIA due to a technical problem.

On Thursday, it was reported that a pressurisa­tion issue forced a Madinah-bound Malaysia Airlines flight to turn back to KLIA.

Times

Pages 4 & 5, Business