KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia’s Group CEO Tony Fernandes today alleged that Tourism Malaysia chairman, Wee Choo Keong has been “tormenting” the national budget airlines for “many years.”
His claim followed an incident in which Wee was reported to have lost his cool at the mere sight of an AirAsia bunting at the Malaysian booth at the Beijing International Tourism Expo (BITE), over the weekend.
“For many many (sic) years this man has tormented us. We have no idea why,” wrote Tony in his latest Facebook posting, while adding that Wee was always invited to visit AirAsia Allstars.
Tony lamented that the recent outburst by Wee is “over the top,” and stressed that AirAsia "brings the most Chinese tourists", presumably to Malaysia.
Fernandes urged the public to be the judge on what is right and wrong, and posted a news clipping of the said incident in Beijing.
The long-standing feud between Wee and AirAsia reached a new height when last Friday. According to the news report, Wee had allegedly berated his staff for having AirAsia buntings in Tourism Malaysia's pavilion in the prestigious expo.
“AirAsia are not paying fees to have their branding at the pavilion,” Wee was reported to have said, and went on to add, “I hate AirAsia. Throw it away.”
He also had physically broken the bunting himself in plain sight, some reports claim.
Wee, a former Member of Parliament, had in the past openly criticised the carrier and accused AirAsia of owing airport tax amounting to RM 50 million.
AirAsia has also filed a law suit against Wee last year, alleging him of frequently making defamatory claims against the airlines.
NST has contacted Wee for comments and is still waiting for his response.