A prominent Malaysian politician has labelled the possible hiring of a foreigner to head embattled national carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS) as "colonisation".

"MAS has to give reasons why Malays or Malaysians are not qualified," Hishammuddin Hussein, a leader in the ruling United Malays National Organisation, was quoted as saying by Sunday's New Straits Times .

"The present-day imperialism is not only through the use of weapons but we must realise there is another form of colonisation through the mind, culture and economy," he said.

The newspaper reported over the weekend that Malaysia Airlines, which last week posted one of its worst quarterly losses, may hire a foreign managing director to boost its flagging performance.

The company posted a RM280.66 million net loss in the three months to June, from a profit of RM26.58 million a year earlier. Managing director Ahmad Fuaad Dahalan resigned at the same time.

The government's investment arm Khazanah Nasional, which holds a 69.3 percent interest in the airline, is now considering approaching several "big names" from overseas to fill the position, said the newspaper.

But Hishamuddin, also education minister, said national interests and those of the majority Malay population had to be considered.

"Don't look at it purely from the commercial aspect but also at the bigger agenda, that is the Malay agenda," he said.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said yesterday he would prefer a Malaysian but did not rule out hiring a foreigner.

"Of course I prefer a local," Abdullah said. However, "if there's nobody who can handle it we may have to get someone from outside for a while until we build someone who can handle it."

Abdullah, who chairs Khazanah, said he was unaware of any current plans to hire a foreigner.

34-year-old not ready

The New Straits Times , citing an unnamed source, had said potential candidates include retiring British Airways chief executive Rod Eddington and Qantas executive general manager John Borgetti.

"The gap between MAS and Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Qantas is widening," said the source.

"The foreign appointment will be seen as an attempt to narrow that gap and even bring MAS to a new level of competition with these big players."

An interim management team announced last week includes newcomer Tengku Azmil Zahruddin Raja Abdul Aziz, 34, as executive director and as Khazanah's nominee for managing director in the long term.

The report said an expatriate managing director would be expected to cut costs and hold the fort until Tengku Azmil was ready to take over.

After posting the disappointing result, Malaysia Airlines announced an ambitious five-year plan to boost profits by up to RM1 billion, including shaking up its management.

The changes are part of a broader government strategy to revamp government-linked companies to make them more competitive, which includes the hiring of international staff.