KUALA LUMPUR (May 5): Captain Ahmad Ridzwan Mohd Salleh, the chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), has had his contract terminated effective May 1.

According to a letter signed by Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong that was seen by theedgemarkets.com, Ahmad Ridzwan’s services were terminated as part of a review process by the Ministry of Transport (MoT) of all chairmen and boards of directors of statutory bodies and agencies under its purview.

Ahmad Ridzwan was appointed to his current post on Oct 4, 2019, shortly before the CAAM announced that the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had downgraded its aviation regulator status from Category 1 to Category 2, which restricts the country’s airlines from adding new flights to the US.

Ahmad Ridzwan's departure follows that of Afzal Abdul Rahim and Ragunath Kesavan as authority members of the CAAM last month. That move had previously prompted former transport minister Anthony Loke to take to Facebook to question the removal, pointing out that both Afzal and Ragunath were professionals and not a member of any political party related to the Pakatan Harapan coalition.

A check on the CAAM's website today showed that Ahmad Ridzwan's name has been removed from its list of authority members. The website now lists CAAM acting chief executive officer Dr Zainul Fuad Md Wahi, Datuk Isham Ishak, Commander (H) Prof Datuk Razali Mahfar, Professor Tan Sri Dr Chuah Hean Teik and Rokhoun Nafsiah Abd Rashid as authority members.

Meanwhile, Mohd Fahmi Mohd Mokhtar and Mohamad Radzuan Mazlan are listed as alternate representatives of the Ministry of Finance and MoT respectively.

Last Friday, Wee announced the appointment of Datuk Seri Saripuddin Kasim as the executive chairman of the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) effective May 4, replacing Dr Nungsari Ahmad Radhi who resigned from the post on April 10.

Under Loke's tenure, a decision was made to merge the CAAM with Mavcom, pending an Act of Parliament to unwind Mavcom.