BANDAR Kuching MP Chong Chieng Jen has waded into the controversy surrounding Malaysia Airlines, calling on the government to set up an independent commission of inquiry to investigate the problems besetting the national carrier.

He said taxpayers had been bailing out the company for a good part of two decades, and so, had the right to know what MAS’ problems were.

“We (taxpayers) are paying for it.”

The Sarawak PH chairman said the manner in which two foreign chief executive officers, who had been engaged to turn the loss-making airline around, left without seeing their contracts out showed that there were problems.

MAS CEO Peter Bellew, in a shock announcement, will be leaving the company to rejoin low-budget European carrier Ryanair, which he left in 2015.

The MAS board was reportedly caught by surprise by Bellew’s planned departure, only finding out about the matter from a Ryanair announcement on Tuesday that said the Irishman would return on December 1.

Bellew has been on the job as MAS CEO for less than 1½ years.

His predecessor, German Christoph Mueller, a man with a reputation as a turnaround specialist in the aviation, logistics and tourism industry, held the position for an even shorter period.

Mueller left less than a year into his contract, citing “changing personal circumstances” for the abrupt departure.

Chong said the commission of inquiry should include lawmakers from both sides of the political divide, and should investigate “everything” regarding the airline’s operations, accounts and contracts over the last 20 years.

“We have an airline that is consistently sustaining losses year in, year out. It’s a bottomless pit that is draining the national coffers. Now, we have CEOs who resign suddenly.”

He said MAS never made any profit even when Sarawakian Idris Jala was at the helm from 2005 to 2009.

In February 2006, Idris announced that the airline had made a turnaround from a nine-month loss of RM1.69 billion in 2005 to achieving a projected record profit of RM1.097 billion in 2007.

“When Idris did the job, he was merely doing creative accounting to turn the red to black,” said Chong.

“We have changed many CEOs, and yet, we don’t see any improvement.”

Bellew, in a statement today, denied that government interference precipitated his departure.

He said he was leaving for the sake of his home country.

“Love for country is pulling me back to Ireland.”

Bellew said he got a call from Ryanair two weeks ago, with the offer for him to be its chief operations officer.

“It is Ireland’s greatest company. They need my help and there is a big challenge. It is a form of national service,” he said in explaining his departure from MAS. – October 18, 2017.