National carrier Malaysia Airlines said it was suing former executive chair Tajudin Ramli and former cargo vice president Ralph Manfred Gotz for losses under their stewardship.

The airline said in a statement yesterday that it had filed a claim for losses amounting to RM174.62 million with Malaysia's High Court.

"The company claims that it had suffered the losses resulting from inter alia, the breach of duties owed by the defendants to the company during Tajudin Ramli's tenure as the executive chairperson of the company," the statement said.

"The losses suffered by the company are related to its cargo operations in Hahn Airport, Germany from March 1999 to July 2001," it said.

Report lodged in 2002

A report was lodged following an audit report by the new management after the government bought back the national carrier.

Dr Mohamadon Abdullah, who was then MAS corporate services senior general manager, made the report on Jan 9, 2002.

The report was over two controversial cargo ventures in Hahn in 1999 and in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates, in 2000 that saw MAS losing RM11 million monthly.

The deals were said to have been opposed by the board of directors but nevertheless executed, and two senior officials quit in protest.