PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia is putting together a team of local and foreign experts to help the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) regain its Category 1 aviation regulator status.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the eight-member task force would be headed by former Department of Civil Aviation director-general Datuk Kok Soo Chon.
Kok had led the Malaysian International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team, which was in charge of the international investigation team looking into the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.
Last week, the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had downgraded CAAM’s aviation regulator status from Category 1 to Category 2.
Loke said the task force would consist of technical personnel and international experts with expertise in aviation.
He said the members would include four pilots, three engineers and a technical coordinator.
“In the eight-member task force, there will be three international experts to be appointed and they are from ICAO,” Loke said here yesterday.
However, apart from Kok, he did not name the other members.
Present were CAAM acting chief executive officer Dr Zainol Fuad, chairman Captain Ahmad Ridzwan Mohd Salleh and authority member Professor Datuk Razali Mahfar.
With the goal of regaining Category 1 status, the task force would report to the transport minister and CAAM members on solving all the assessment findings by FAA, he said.
Loke added that as the head of the task force, Kok would also coordinate its work and lead the development, work plan review process and implementation.
“This task force is set to finalise all rectification works under Category 2, which is a rating given by FAA under the International Aviation Safety Assessment findings that were categorised as open status and other related issues.
“Thereafter, FAA will be invited to conduct a reassessment of the IASA programme with the objective of recategorising CAAM from Category 2 to Category 1.”
He said Kok had requested to render his service gratis.
He corrected former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s statement that Malaysia had passed FAA’s audit in 2016.
“The last (FAA) audit was in 2003 (before the 2019 audit was done).”