Malaysia Airlines extends Ahmad Jauhari’s contract for another year

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian Airline System (MAS) has renewed the contract of its managing director and chief executive officer, Mr Ahmad Jauhari Yahya.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today (Sept 15), MAS said Mr Ahmad Jauhari’s contract would be extended for one year, with effect from Sept 20, 2014 to Sept 19, 2015.

Mr Ahmad Jauhari will be leading MAS, even after its de-listing from Bursa Malaysia – targeted at the end of this year, following the privatisation exercise by its major shareholder Khazanah Nasional.

Mr Ahmad Jauhari had come under tremendous pressure to resign following the double tragedy of flights MH370 and MH17 this year.

The former disappeared from radar enroute to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur on March 8, with 239 passengers and crew on board and has yet to be found, while the latter had 298 passengers and crew on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, when it is said to have been shot down over eastern Ukraine.

Asked in April if he will resign following the disappearance of flight MH370 and the lack of answers from the airline and authorities, Mr Ahmad Jauhari had replied that his resignation was a “personal decision for later”.

Meanwhile, the search for the chief executive of Newco — the new operational company of MAS post-privatisation — is still ongoing. THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER