MALAYSIA Airlines’ former chief executive officer Peter Bellew today denied allegations that his departure was due to interference from Prime Minister Najib Razak.

“Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is wrong. 100% wrong. No one connected with him has ever been in any contact to check. (There has been) no interference (in my leaving). I just want to ‘balik kampung’,” Bellew said at a press conference in Damansara this evening.

Bellew has previously told media in a press release issued in his personal capacity that there had been no interference from any party concerning his departure.

He, however, said that he felt the need to speak out one last time today to emphasise the statement following Dr Mahathir’s recent allegation about the reasoning behind his departure.

In a blogpost on Friday, Dr Mahathir had said Bellew had quit his post because of Najib meddling in MAS matter without referring to the director or the company’s manager.

Bellew said he tendered his resignation on October 8 and the reason that MAB did not announce his departure was because “they were still trying to make him stay”.

“They were still keep trying for the next 10 days but I just want to balik kampung (go home),” he said.

Bellew had refused to answer many questions including the terms of his contract and if he has to pay Khazanah Nasional Berhad compensation for failing to complete his contract as MAB CEO.

“It’s a private matter. I do not want to discuss about it,” he said.

Khazanah Nasional Berhad is the sovereign wealth fund of the Malaysian government and the sole shareholder of Malaysia Airlines.

Bellew’s contract was to expire on June 2019.

He said that the press conference today was held own his personal capacity and was not influenced by authority or Khazanah.

Bellew was appointed as MAB CEO effective July 1 last year. He took over from Christoph Mueller, who left the airline on September 1, 2016.

Bellew was brought in by Mueller as part of the MAB management team on September 1, 2015 as chief operations officer, just a few months after he himself joined the ailing airline.

While Mueller stayed as managing director and CEO for only about one year too, the German national gave a six-month notice on stepping down due to “a change in his personal circumstances”.

On the MOU signed on the deal to purchase Boeing planes worth RM42 billion in the US last month, Bellew said it was MAB’s decision to buy the airplanes.

“There was no political interference in MAB’s decision to buy Boeing or Airbus. MAB needs more wide-body planes and fewer narrow-bodied planes. The chairman and I brought the MOU to the prime minister in Washington, and he witnessed the MOU signing. It all came from MAB,” said Bellew.

Dr Mahathir in his blogpost on Friday also stated that the airplanes were not needed by MAB to get to certain destinations.

“I am confident that Najib did not even ask MAB. Najib does not even care about the CEO plan or MAB’s selection. Let MAB go bankcrupt, as long as Najib gets to take photo with (Donald) Trump (US president),” he said in his blogpost.

He added that Bellew only appeared to agree with Najib to make it seem like his allegation was not true.

“But this did not even reduce his embarrassment and frustration because Najib did not even care about the MAB CEO. What to do. And suddenly his patriotism kicked in and made him realised how important for him to return to Ireland,” Dr Mahathir said.

Bellew is to return to RyanAir on December 1 as chief operations officer to tackle the pilot shortages that has resulted in it cancelling more than 20,000 flights over the winter season.

Ryanair Ltd is an Irish low-cost airline founded in 1984, headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland, with its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports.

Bellew told the media that he has yet to accept the offer from RyanAir when he quit his post as MAB CEO earlier this month.

MAB announced on Friday that it has appointed its current chief operating officer, former pilot Capt Izham Ismail as its new group CEO to replace Bellew.

“He is homegrown, very popular. He is local. MAB is lucky to have him,” said Bellew.

Izham has 38 years of experience in the aviation industry, having started his career with Malaysia Airlines as a pilot in 1979. – October 22, 2017.