KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 — Future approval of airline licences will involve more agencies apart from the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) and Civil Aviation Authority (CAAM).

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibollah said the recent incident with MYAirline had set a precedence for future approval of airline licences.

"Certainly, what was raised (by MPs) this as a starting point. It means that for the future — the lesson is always learned... surely this adds to our maturity.

"From this, it will become one of the criteria in future applications for aviation licences — yes, there are still many who are applying.

"It will be one of our SOPs (standard operating procedure) whereby we may need an internal investigation for the licence and we will need screening done by other agencies apart from Mavcom and CAAM, other agencies must also be brought together in the issue,” Hasbi said during a Special Chamber session today.

Hasbi was responding to MPs who asked regarding the investigation of airline companies’ shareholders and ways to prevent this incident from occurring again.

"When they were issued the air service licence (ASL) — that was last year — everything was according to the criteria and terms, everything was complete, there was no breaching of the regulations.

"And we did not take things lightly with our evaluation... At the same time, they did follow all the criteria in terms of technicality, airworthiness, everything was thorough,” he said.

He added that, although the airline company was only in operation for nine months, in terms of safety and maintenance, there were no flaws.

He said even during the May audit performed on the company, their financial status showed no signs of trouble.

"When they do their representation, everything will be questioned by Mavcom, and from there we will see what the next course of action is,” Hasbi said.

As for passenger refunds, the deputy minister said MYAirline could face a minimum penalty of RM200,000 if they fail to fulfil refund conditions.

Earlier today, CAAM suspended MYAirline Sdn Bhd’s air operator’s certificate (AOC) effective today.

Its chief executive officer Datuk Capt Norazman Mahmud reportedly said this was pursuant to Regulation 193 (3) of the Civil Aviation Regulations 2016 and would be for a period of 90 days pending further investigations.

The suspension of the airline affected about 125,000 passengers who bought tickets worth RM20 million in total.

Mavcom has since issued a show-cause letter to MYAirline on October 13, in which the airline company was given 14 days to make a representation to Mavcom over their failure to comply with the ASL conditions.

Mavcom after receiving representation from MYAirline will make an assessment as to whether MYAirline can continue its operations or whether its licence should be suspended or cancelled pursuant to Section 43 of the Malaysian Aviation Commission Act 2015.