Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Wahid Omar (below) defended the decision to appoint German national Christoph Mueller as Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAS) chief executive officer.

The appointment of a foreigner has been criticised by PAS and Umno leaders, including former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"I think we leave it to (sovereign wealth fund) Khazanah (Nasional) to pick the best talent who they think is suitable.

"After all, in terms of accountability, the responsibility to make this thing a success has been given to Khazanah because they are forking out the RM6 billion investment to revive this company," he told a press conference today.

However, the minister did not wish to comment on Mahathir's statement that MAS had failed because "Malaysians are stupid".

He further explained that as Khazanah was responsible for the mentioned investment, it should be given the facility and empowerment to pick the right people.

Mueller's appointment is effective come Jan 1. He is currently CEO of Aer Lingus Plc, the national airline of Ireland.

He would also be nominated to the Board of Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS) as non-executive director.

Meanwhile, the minister said that Khazanah's 12-point plan includes global talent searching.

"Khazanah had announced in the 12-point MAS Recovery Plan in August and they had made make it clear that they want to conduct a global search for the best talent possible.

"They are finding a suitable person through that process," he said, adding that the plan was one of the most comprehensive plans he had ever come across.

Abdul Wahid also reiterated that one of the key components of the 12-point plan was the need to ensure that MAS would have the necessary skills and talents to be able to nurture the company back to a "healthy" position.

This includes the management also being able to hire the best talent possible in order to make the restructuring and recovering plan successful.