PUTRAJAYA, Nov 12 — In light of the downgrade to Category Two by the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) will be submitting a proposal to modernise and merge civil aviation laws in the country to the Transport Ministry.

Its board member Ragunath Kesavan told a press conference today that the regulatory body will be sending their proposal to Minister Anthony Loke by the end of the year — with the first phase focused on addressing regulatory concerns.

“The regulator must be independent. That’s why we moved from the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) to CAAM. But in the process, because we are still new, there is an overlap of obligations and responsibilities. So we still have the civil aviation act in place and also the CAAM act.

“So there are two acts now in place, so we need to coordinate and merge it into one. The first part will be regulatory,” said Ragunath.

However, he also pointed out that the regulatory changes are only one part of the 33 outstanding non-compliance issues with FAA’s requirements.

He added that it is a long term plan for CAAM and they are confident that it can be done in 12 months.

Furthermore, there is a need to modernise the regulations and the rules.

One of the issues that were raised by the FAA was CAAM’s lack of power to take penalties or punitive measures against airline operators – touching primarily on aviation legislation and specific operating regulations.

“Basically the regulations, some of them are antiquated, we need to modernise and make it current. For example, we are the regulators but can’t impose penalties.

“If we are going to take action against an operator, we need to have rules in place and a process to carry out hearings and so on,” explained Ragunath.

GEORGE TOWN: Former Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah spent an hour giving a statement at the Selangor police headquarters today, following the reopening of the case into the death of his ex-aide Teoh Beng Hock.

Ean Yong said that during the police interview, he reiterated what he had said before, and that the police reviewed his earlier statements on Teoh as well.

“I told police that Teoh was a witness, not a suspect of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

“By being just a witness, he should not have been treated like a suspect and it was wrong and improper to keep him until midnight,” he told FMT.

“From what I understand, they are looking for new evidence so that those responsible for Teoh’s death can face the music. I am happy that they are reopening the case so that justice can be served.”

Teoh’s sister Lee Lan said the family was happy about the case being reopened but did not want it to be classified as wrongful confinement.

She said that by right, the case should be classified as murder, and asked if police were questioning the five MACC officers who were with Teoh on that fateful day.

Lee Lan listed the five as Hishamuddin Hashim, Mohd Anuar Ismail, Hairul Ilham Hamzah, Mohd Ashraf Mohd Yunus and Zulkefly Aziz – all Selangor MACC officers.

“Are they being questioned? Why interview outsiders like Ean Yong and other parties who were not present during the interrogation of Teoh?

“We hope our government will not be the same as the previous government, and that the Pakatan Harapan government will keep its promise to fight for justice for my brother and arrest those who killed him,” she told FMT.

Lee Lan said their lawyer Ramkarpal Singh would soon arrange a meeting with the inspector-general of police to convey their concerns.

In 2009, Teoh was found dead on the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam, hours after he was interrogated by Selangor MACC in its office on the 14th floor of the same building.

A royal commission of inquiry concluded that Teoh was driven to suicide by the aggressive interrogation methods used by MACC officers.

It also blamed three officers for their aggressive methods which it said had violated procedures.

Last July, it was reported that the police would comply with instructions from the Attorney-General’s Chambers to conduct further investigations into Teoh’s death.

FRANKFURT: German prosecutors said Tuesday that three suspected Islamic State group jihadists have been arrested for allegedly planning an attack.

The three men are accused of “preparing to commit a religiously motivated crime in the Rhine Main region using explosives or firearms to kill as many people as possible,” Frankfurt prosecutors said in a statement.

A 24-year-old German citizen of Macedonian origin is believed to be the main suspect, prosecutors said.

He had allegedly procured “basic components for manufacturing explosives” and looked online to secure firearms.

The other two men arrested are Turkish nationals.

All three have previously identified themselves to others as members of IS, prosecutors said.

The trio were rounded up after a search of three apartments.

Germany has been on alert following several jihadist attacks in recent years claimed by IS.

The most deadly was committed in 2016 by a 23-year-old Tunisian who killed 12 people when he stole a truck and ploughed it through a Berlin Christmas market.

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 12 — The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) has denied that its former chief executive officer Ahmad Nizar Zolfakar resigned due to the Federal Aviation Authority’s (FAA) downgrade of the Malaysian regulatory body to Category 2 recently.

Speaking to a press conference today, its board member Ragunath Kesavan said that Ahmad Nizar had tendered his resignation a month prior to the FAA audit report coming out.

“The CEO tendered his resignation before the decision was made by the FAA, he did it sometime last month in October. It was before they recategorised us.

“To respect his wishes, he came back to be CEO of CAAM after retired from the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) and served more than a year. So he tendered his resignation,” said Ragunath.

CAAM has just begun the search for a new chief executive and expects to find the replacement in a few months time with an interim CEO taking care of Ahmad Nizar’s duties.

The listing of CAAM as a Category 2 Aviation Regulator by the FAA came into effect yesterday following a review conducted in April this year.

The effect of the listing meant that airlines licensed by CAAM would not be able to add new routes to and from the United States.

PUTRAJAYA: The federal government will deal with any shortcomings with Malaysia’s air safety rating following a downgrade by the US aviation authority, Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.

The prime minister said he had no knowledge of the US decision, reported by the Reuters news agency earlier today, and had yet to be notified.

But he would find out why the downgrade had taken place.

“And if there is anything wrong with our civil aviation authority, we will take measures to correct the situation so that the whole world will respect Malaysian aviation,” he told reporters after chairing a party leadership meeting here.

According to the Reuters report, Malaysia’s air safety rating had been downgraded by the US Federal Aviation Authority to Category 2, restricting the country’s airlines from adding flights to the United States.

A US government official said discussions would be held with Malaysia’s Civil Aviation Authority on helping Malaysia regain its former status.

The new rating means Malaysian carriers cannot start new services and are restricted to current levels of any existing service to the United States, and would be subject to additional inspections at U.S. airports. The only service to the US is currently operated by AirAsiaX.