Malaysia Airlines has offered a RM100,000 reward to its employees for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for a string of mishaps involving its aircraft, local media said today.

An Osaka-bound Malaysia Airlines Airbus A330, which arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport from Bangkok on Jan 5, was grounded after engineers conducting pre-departure checks found hydraulic oil had been spilled on the cockpit instrument panel.

The incident came in the wake of previous "wire-cutting incidents involving MAS aircraft," said a circular to Malaysia Airlines employees.

"Clearly the motive of those responsible is to undermine the principle of safety that we have all worked very hard to uphold," Malaysia Airlines managing director Ahmad Fuaad Dahlan was quoted as saying in the circular by the New Straits Times .

'Acts of cowardice'

Dahlan described the actions as "acts of cowardice," The Star said.

"He or they are a serious threat to the company's business and a dangerous enemy within and a traitor to the country," he said.

"He or they have no regard for the safety of our aircraft and the lives of others and must be caught and brought to justice."

The Airbus A330 was the flag carrier's fourth aircraft to be grounded for possible tampering in the past two years.