Malaysian Offers a Reward for the Arrest of Internal Saboteurs

Air Safety Week, Jan 31, 2005

Four Malaysia Airlines jetliners have been found to have had their electrical wiring tampered with since October 2003. In the latest incident, a Malaysian A330 about to depart for Osaka was grounded on Jan. 5 after ground crew found Skydrol (hydraulic oil) spilled over the cockpit's instrument panel.

The airline has offered a US$26,000 reward for information to help capture the saboteurs responsible for this rash of vandalism on its aircraft, according to The Star daily newspaper. Malaysian police have questioned airline employees and other staff at Kuala Lumpur Airport but have yet to identify a culprit. In a staff newsletter earlier this week, Malaysia Airlines offered a 100,000 ringgit reward for anybody with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the miscreant.

The airline's managing director Ahmad Fuad Dahlan described the vandal as "a dangerous enemy within" and "a traitor to the country who has no regard to the safety of our aircraft and the lives of others ... He must be caught and brought to justice." It's not known whether such acts fall within Malaysia's anti-terrorist laws.

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