PETALING JAYA: A special dinner was organised on Thursday (Nov 3) to pay tribute to those behind Malaysia’s return to Category 1 of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) IASA Safety Rating last month.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said he was overjoyed that he had appointed the right people to lead the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) and in the Transport Ministry, which led to the big achievement in Malaysia’s aviation industry.

“When I was appointed as Minister of Transport in March 2020, I made it a main priority for us to regain the Category 1 rating, after the FAA downgraded it back in November 2019.

“I quickly appointed the right people to lead and transform CAAM, particularly chairman Tan Sri Mohd Khairul Adib Bin Abd Rahman and CEO Datuk Capt Chester Voo Chee Soon.

“They and their supportive staff working with the MOT have wasted no time in the past two years to strengthen CAAM’s workforce, streamline documentation, and develop comprehensive training policy for the inspectors to ensure effective safety oversight is carried out for the civil aviation industry.

“I also thanked the FAA and the US Embassy in KL for always being in close cooperation with Malaysia to bring us back to Category 1,” he said in a Facebook post on Thursday (Nov 3).

He added that Malaysia’s aviation industry would continue to have a bright future under the care of CAAM’s new leadership and its dedicated staff.