QUESTION TIME | Malaysia Airlines Bhd’s first non-Malaysian CEO Christoph Mueller announced he is stepping down last week barely one year at the top seat for “personal” reasons. Why? And, was he good for Malaysia Airlines?

Khazanah Nasional is now pumping in some RM6 billion into the airline for its recovery plan and in addition to the RM17.4 billion pumped in over the last 14 years, the total spent is soon likely to hit a massive RM23.4 billion. Will it be worth it?

Unfortunately statistics from Malaysia Airlines are insufficient to say how good a job Mueller has done. Where there is a paucity of information there are usually problems - why would anyone hide good news?

Mueller, appointed in March last year, will step down in six months as he serves his notice out - one and a half years before his contract ends. He will be a non-executive director after that. That Mueller can stay on for another six months is clear indication that his “personal circumstances” are not urgent, indicating other reasons why he is stepping down...