KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 11): Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) chief operating officer (COO) Azmir Zain is stepping down from his role on Friday and will be replaced by Datuk Azmi Murad.

Sources said the appointment of Azmi has been approved by Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.

Based in Istanbul, Turkey, Azmi is currently the executive director of the Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, which is operated and owned by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB).

When contacted, Azmir confirmed that he had tendered his resignation in May.

“I have since been serving my notice period. I am currently on annual leave until my final official day as an employee on Friday,” he told theedgemarkets.com.

Azmir joined Mavcom from Khazanah Nasional Bhd since the commission's inception in March 2016. At Khazanah, he was the director of investments where he oversaw the government sovereign wealth fund's investments in the aviation sector.

Azmir recently posted on his LinkedIn account that he indicated in January to then chairman Dr Nungsari Ahmad Radhi his intention to “move on from the commission by mid-2020, to take a short break and pursue other goals. My departure is pursuant to that”.

”Mavcom interfaces with the industry and consumers, domestic and foreign, private and public, on the buy and sell sides [as well as the] heroes and the vile.

”I hope the industry recovers soon from the current [Covid-19] pandemic, and that the rule of law and good governance will always prevail in Malaysian aviation,” he wrote.

Azmir told theedgemarkets.com that his decision to resign follows the announcement in December last year by the Ministry of Transport, under then minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook, to dissolve Mavcom and transfer its economic and commercial functions to the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), which regulates the safety and security aspects of the civil aviation industry.

Asked about his next venture, Azmir said, “I want to take a break for now.”

Still, the rationalisation of Mavcom and the CAAM involves several legislative changes, including the repeal of the Mavcom Act 2015 (Act 771), under which Mavcom was set up in March 2016, as well as amendments to the CAAM Act 2017 (Act 788), which the CAAM comes under.

According to sources, the merger is expected to be completed by early next year.

MAHB's Annual Report 2019 showed that the 68-year-old Azmi started his aviation career in 1970 with the Department of Civil Aviation (which is now the CAAM) as an air traffic controller and subsequently joined airport operator MAHB when it was incorporated in 1992.

Since then, he has held various positions within the MAHB group, including as the general manager (GM) of the Sepang International Circuit, GM of corporate communications and air traffic services, GM of Malaysia Airports (Sepang) Sdn Bhd and senior GM of operation services. He was appointed to his current role on Sept 2, 2015.