1,260 juruterbang Malaysia Airlines wajib jalani saringan dadah

Malaysia Airlines is required to have all its 1,260 pilots undergo drug testing by August 15 following the detention of one pilot with drugs at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Indonesia, according to Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG). The pilot, who was the second-in-command in the cockpit, was arrested last week with over 25kg of ecstasy hidden in his luggage, valued at more than RM13 million.

MAG stated that the pilot was not part of the flight crew responsible for controlling the aircraft at the time. MAG CEO Nasaruddin A Bakar emphasized that the pilot's actions were unacceptable and went against professional standards expected from the crew. He also stated that the safety of operations and crew readiness cannot be compromised and that the incident does not reflect the professionalism of the majority of the staff.

The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Tiong King Sing, urged relevant agencies to take immediate corrective action, stating that every safety inspection, examination process, and border control procedure should be reviewed in light of this incident. He called for thorough scrutiny of workforce selection, background checks, operational management, risk monitoring, and professional ethics.

He also highlighted the need for a transparent investigation into structural weaknesses in workforce planning, operational resilience, and risk management. The minister stressed that such a significant safety breach cannot be solely attributed to workforce shortages, and any internal party responsible for compromising national border security must face appropriate legal action.