The National Flight Attendants Union Malaysia (Nufam) urged airlines to employ more male flight attendants in the interest of passenger safety, following the MH128 incident last night. 

The Malaysia Airlines flight from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur was forced to turn back after a passenger, who claimed to carry an explosive device, tried to enter the cockpit. 

The passenger, who was revealed to be a psychriatic patient who was released from a facility hours before boarding the flight, was pinned down by passengers and hog-tied. 

"Nufam hopes all airlines will employ male cabin crew for safety and security reasons. It is imperative for airlines to have more male crew members, especially on long flights, as a preventive measure," it said in a statement. 

It said this is because male crew members are more physically capable to overpower disruptive passengers. 

The MH128 passenger was taken down by a group of male passengers, while a picture taken by one of the passengers showed a male flight attendant seated on the floor next to man whose hands were tied up using a cord. 

The union also lauded the crew for their action in ensuring passenger safety on flight MH128, and urged airlines to take the incident as a reminder to always ensure sufficient number of crew on board. 

"We are glad no one was hurt in the incident and we are definitely proud of the crew and pilots who performed well of their duties to help bring the situation under control."