Police are to question Malaysia Airlines staff over an incident last week when engineers discovered wires in one of its Australia-bound aircraft had been cut shortly before take-off, a report said today.

"I would say it was an act of vandalism and not any form of sabotage," the airline's senior general manager Mohamadon Abdullah told the Malay Mail .

The Airbus A-330 was due to leave for Perth last Thursday when engineers alerted by a malfunction signal found at least seven bundles of wires cut , including those under an instrument panel in the cockpit.

No premature conclusion

Police said they did not rule out "an inside job " and would question all staff who had access to the tarmac where the plane was parked.

"We have to carry out a thorough investigation and not rush into any premature conclusion without interviewing all those on duty that day," Selangor state police chief Mohamad Noor Hamat was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times .

No one had been questioned so far, he said, but added that he did not rule out the possibility that someone well-versed with aircraft technology had a hand in the tampering.

"We are also investigating the possibility of someone who might have been upset with something and decided to express his feelings by attempting to cause serious harm to others," Mohamad Noor said. - AFP