This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on November 14, 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: Ex-Malaysia Airlines Bhd chief executive officer (CEO) Peter Bellew had to fork out four months’ pay to the national carrier for quitting without giving a full six-month notice, according to a Malaysiakini report.

Quoting Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, the report said under Bellew’s three-year employment contract, termination of the agreement had to be preceded with a six-month notice from either party.

“In the contract, both parties can give a six-month notice. The CEO can give a six-month notice, or Malaysia Airlines can give a six-month notice.

“But he gave four months short of [the required] notice, so we accepted [his resignation] and he had to pay four months’ [salary],” he was quoted as saying during the winding up of the Budget 2018 debate in Parliament yesterday.

Johari was responding to a question from Datuk Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena), who asked if Bellew had defaulted on his employment contract and the amount he had to compensate Malaysia Airlines. The sum, however, was not disclosed by Johari.

On Oct 17, Irish carrier Ryanair Holdings plc announced that Bellew will return to the company as its chief operations officer on Dec 1.

The news appeared to take Malaysia Airlines by surprise, which said it was “unexpected”. It was later revealed that Bellew tendered his resignation to Malaysia Airlines’ sole shareholder, Khazanah Nasional Bhd, on Oct 8.