China cutting edge technologies: Naval Missile Defense Unveiled, Hypersonic Surpasses US

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  China’s defensive missile technology makes strides

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  China’s defensive missile technology makes strides. A number of antiship cruise missiles, or ASCMs have been deployed in multiple PLA naval drills this year. They also been sold to other navies around the world. China’s long-range, multi-purpose, all-weather, anti-ship cruise missiles, C802A...

  
  

  Watch Video: http://t.cn/Rhf0te0

Naval missile defense system unveiled

China revealed its HongQi-10 surface-to-air missile system for the first time Wednesday.

The advanced system, which can mitigate the threat from low-altitude anti-ship missiles, was unveiled during a China Central Television (CCTV) report.

As a naval point-defense missile system, HongQi-10 boasts a particularly quick response to low-altitude missiles that area-defense systems fail to intercept. It has a high success rate in intercepting them, Lan Yun, deputy chief editor of Modern Ships, told the Global Times.

The point-defense missile system defends a warship against rockets over a limited area. It is in contrast to an area-defense system that targets medium- and long-range objects with slower response and lower success rate.

HongQi-10 can be prepared to launch missiles in about 10 seconds and aims at missiles only 1.5 to 10 meters above the sea level, Lan said.

The advanced system, equipped with both infrared and microwave seekers, can secure naval ships against anti-ship missiles outfitted with either infrared or microwave radiation, Lin Yuchen, a missile expert of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, told CCTV.

The dual seeker missiles can combat interference from jamming, since an infrared seeker is always combined with a radar seeker that often detects waves whose wavelengths are longer than microwaves, said naval expert Li Jie.

In addition to maritime defense, the low- to medium-level air defense system is also designed to protect ground forces from air attacks by jets, unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles, said Lin.

Such small missile system can be widely deployed due to its agility, he added.

The system was adopted by the Liaoning aircraft carrier and the type 056 corvette in 2011, said Lan.

By Chen Heying Source:Global Times Published: 2014-9-11 0:58:06

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  Published : 2014-09-09 22:38:31

China Surpasses US in Hypersonic Weapons

 

The Advanced Hypersonic Weapon concept conducts its first flight in 2011 (Army photo)

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140829072943-62667533-china-surpasses-us-in-hypersonic-weapons

National Defense magazine publishes an article by Valerie Insinna titled “US, China in Race to Develop Hypersonic Weapons”, stating that only two countries in the world China and the US have succeeded in testing their hypersonic weapons. The article fails to describe the application of such weapons, but focus on defense against such weapons.

There are detailed descriptions about China’s hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) in my book. I have only to point out:

1. Chinese HGV has achieved a speed of Mach 10 while the US one, only Mach 5.

2. China will develop HGV with the speed of Mach 22 launched from its space-air bomber.

Mach 10 means 3.3 km per second. If launched from the height of 100 km low orbit of a satellite, it takes 30 seconds, an HGV reaches its target. Rich Fisher’s rail gun needs 2 minutes; therefore, there is no defense against a Mach 10 HGV.

If the HGV flies at a speed of Mach 22, it takes only 12 seconds!

That is why China adopts the Space Era Strategy to develop integrated space and air capabilities. The US, however, sticks to its outdated strategy of Air-Sea Battle. It focuses on defense instead of attack and is, therefore, doomed to defeat.

ICBM was first developed in early 1960s, but even now more than 50 years later, we still cannot 100% intercept it. Our interception system will be regarded as very good if the rate of interception is 50%.

The US has not yet been able to produce workable HGV, but focus on development of weapons to defend it. Why? Because it has to protect the major weapons of its Air-Sea Battle—its very expensive nuclear aircraft carriers.

In space era, aircraft carrier is obsolete.

The following is the full text of the magazine’s article:

US, China in Race to Develop Hypersonic Weapons
By Valerie Insinna

On the heels of reports that China had successfully completed a second ultra-high-speed missile flight test, the Defense Department announced on Aug. 25 that it had aborted a test of its own hypersonic weapon.

The military is investigating the “anomaly” responsible for the test failure, but analysts told National Defense that the incident was not a major setback for the program.

"It's a glitch. These are weapons that operate under fantastic stresses,” said Rick Fisher, a senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center. “Failure is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if data can be gathered so that you learn from your mistake.”

“These weapons are traveling at such fantastic speeds and they are required to be capable of such accuracy that it is simply going to require an extensive development program to achieve a point where they can be considered ready for the field,” he added.

The Aug. 25 test of the advanced hypersonic weapon was aborted because of an unspecified flight anomaly, according to a Defense Department news release. “The test was terminated near the launch pad shortly after liftoff to ensure public safety. There were no injuries to any personnel,” the release read.

Testers made the decision to destroy the rocket within four seconds of its launch at the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska, said Maureen Schumann, a Pentagon spokeswoman. She was not able to provide additional information on what the anomaly was or how it was detected.

The advanced hypersonic weapon is just one of the technologies under development in the conventional prompt global strike program, she said. The goal is to create a menu of precision strike options that would be able to hit anywhere in the world in under an hour.

U.S. program officials are conducting an investigation to determine the cause of this Monday’s test failure, said Schumann. The investigation will likely take “weeks or months” to finish and will inform future tests and scheduling.

The August test was the second flight of the advanced hypersonic weapon, Schumann said. “The objective of the test was to develop and demonstrate hypersonic boost glide enabling technologies and collect data on flight vehicle and test range performance for long-range atmospheric flights.”

The United States may not be the only country that has been testing high-speed weapons this month. China conducted the second test flight of its hypersonic glide vehicle — called the Wu-14 — on Aug. 7, unnamed U.S. officials told the Washington Free Beacon.

Schumann would not confirm whether the Chinese military had executed a second Wu-14 test in August. Earlier this year, the Pentagon confirmed the Wu-14’s first flight test in January.

Based on the available evidence, including Chinese reports circulating the internet, it seems probable that there was a second Wu-14 test recently, Fisher said.

"China and the United States are seeking to develop the same range of hypersonic weapons, both boost-glide or hypersonic glide vehicles, and future air-breathing hypersonic vehicles, such as scram jets,” Fisher said.

The U.S. program appears to have progressed further, “but the Chinese program may be better funded and have greater depth in terms of the commitment of intellectual and development resources,” he said.

Mark Gunzinger, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, said he is skeptical that China’s development of hypersonic weapons has matured past that of the United States.

“We hear about the successes and not the failures” of the Chinese program, he said. “They could have had dozens of failures that we know nothing about, at least in public.”

Hypersonic weapons could be operational within a decade, Gunzinger said. The challenge, especially in a budget-conscious environment, will be figuring out how to drive down manufacturing costs.

“Can we find a sweet spot in hypersonic weapons where the price point is right and we can buy enough of them?” he asked.

One of the reasons why hypersonic weapons are so highly coveted is because they are difficult to shoot down, Fisher said. Directed energy weapons, such as a hypersonic capable rail gun or laser, could offer a way to counter hypersonic missiles.

"If you have two to four rail guns for example, [and] you get maybe a two-minute warning that a hypersonic warhead is coming at you, that's enough time to put into the sky clouds of hypersonic rail gun rounds that are designed like shotgun shells,” he said. “They'll release into the air 100 to 200 tungsten pellets. Even if the hypersonic warhead is maneuvering, you're likely to knick it with one of these pellets, and that alone will make the warhead tumble out of control."

The United States appears to be further along in its efforts to develop directed energy weapons, although China’s program is not particularly transparent, Fisher said.

The Navy in April unveiled a high-speed electromagnetic rail gun capable of launching projectiles at speeds up to 5,600 miles per hour. The service has also tested its laser weapons system at sea, proving that it could shoot down small unmanned aircraft.

That laser currently lacks the power and range necessary to destroy a hypersonic glide vehicle, but it could become powerful enough in the next decade to shoot down such weapons, Fisher said. A hypersonic speed capable rail gun is possible in the early 2020s, he added.

Gunzinger said it may be too difficult to intercept a hypersonic missile with a high-powered laser, but rail guns could be well suited for those missions.

The advanced hypersonic missile was developed by Sandia National Laboratory and the Army. Its first flight test took place in November 2011 and was successful, with the missile traveling from Hawaii and hitting a target at the Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Source: Chan Kai Yee “Space Era Strategy: The Way China Beats The US”

Source: National Defense magazine “US, China in Race to Develop Hypersonic Weapons”

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Sino-Japanese thaw checklists

China and Japan are both keen to alleviate tensions, but some actions need to be taken for this to happen.

AT the recent Asean Foreign Ministers meeting in Myanmar, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met on the sidelines with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida. Even though it was brief, it marked the first time since bilateral tensions began that top officials of both countries have met each other.

Does this signal the beginning of a reconciliation between the two Asian giants? Not likely.

There are four major reasons, which are deep seated and multifaceted, militating against a genuine reconciliation. The first is the territorial dispute over the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands where conflicting claims based on history are unlikely to be resolved as neither side seems willing to budge.

Japan claims that the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands were terra nullis (unoccupied) when seized by them along with Taiwan in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894, while the Chinese on their part insisted that there was evidence of Chinese settlement before the war.

The stakes have been heightened with talk of the presence of oil and gas reserves around the islands.

The second is also about history, not so much as a basis for territorial claim but of contrasting interpretations by both sides of the Japanese war record in Asia.

Many Japanese believe that their colonising attempts in East Asia were in the spirit of the times, no more illegitimate than western colonisation of Asia.

Why should so much be made of their colonisation and not that of the West? Also, some Japanese have even gone into denial mode, denying the existence of Japanese atrocities or if undeniable, downplaying the magnitude.

One such case is over the Nanjing Massacre. Some have denied its existence while others dispute the figures as given by the Chinese of 300,000 dead, arguing that the number is much smaller.

The Chinese give short shrift to the “no different from the West” argument as the Chinese were the colonised or semi-colonised victims.

Moreover, many Chinese also contend that even if the figures for the massacre were smaller (widely accepted figures range from 40,000 to 200,000), it is still a massacre.

A complicating aspect is that many Japanese, including their government, have conceded some wrongdoing and have apologised but the Chinese refuse to accept.

The Chinese refusal, these Japanese believe, suggests the Chinese want to use this to hold Japan to some kind of ransom whereas the Chinese do not believe the Japanese apologies are sincere.

And the third, a complex one, is the identification of enmity with the other with a powerful nationalist stream in either China or Japan. In the Chinese case, modern Chinese nationalism has roots in the anti-Japanese war.

It is contended by some that the Chinese communists find it useful to bolster their nationalist credentials by taking an anti-Japanese stance. And by the same token, the Japanese conservatives may find it useful to utilise anti-China sentiments among the Japanese to promote their agenda.

Anti-Japanese or anti-Chinese sentiments have their political uses.

And fourth, Japan is increasingly spooked by the rise of China, not because of the much played-up heavy increase in military expenditure. It is hard to see how China can be a greater threat to Japan, which has United States protection, in a few years time with increased military spending than now.

Rather, Japan fears being relegated to an inferior partner in bilateral relations they had dominated for more than a hundred years, and even more by being rendered irrelevant in Asia by this China rise.

Japan increasingly cannot abide sits irrelevance (witness Prime Minister Shinzo Abe going abroad and insisting in English, “Japan matters!”).

Many Japanese, not least Abe, believe Japan can only matter if China is checked.

Yet it is not in the interest of both for the tensions to continue as it would affect economic relations. Take for example bilateral trade.

It has deteriorated. In 2011, bilateral total trade amounted to about US$345bil (RM1.09 trillion). It went down to about US$333bil (RM1.06 trillion) in 2012 and further to US$312bil (RM992bil) in 2013.

There may be other factors contributing to the drop but bilateral tensions cannot be discounted as a reason. And more important, there is always the danger that conflicts could break out arising from accidental ship or airplane collisions, which might even lead to war with all its horrendous consequences.

I believe both sides are keen to alleviate tensions or achieve a thaw, even if genuine reconciliation is a long way off. Some action however needs to be taken in two areas for this to happen.

One, the Abe government should refrain from practising some of the more offensive aspects of his nationalism, the chief of which is not to visit the Yasukuni Shrine.

There has been an example in the past where a Prime Minister, Yasuhiro Nakasone, stopped his Yasukuni visit because of what he said were diplomatic reasons. Abe could use a similar reason.

The Chinese could reciprocate by toning down their campaign of condemning Japanese war iniquities and their lack of contrition. This could improve the atmosphere

Second, as suggested by Kevin Rudd and Joseph Nye in a Washington Post piece, steps should be taken to return the Senkakus/Diaoyu islands dispute to the agreement by Chou Enlai and Kakuei Tanaka in 1972 to leave the dispute to be solved by subsequent generations. (Some Japanese deny there was such an agreement.)

Rudd and Nye continued that the disputed islands and the surrounding areas be turned into a maritime ecological preserve where there will be no human habitation or usage for military purposes.

Where possible, joint exploration between both countries should be encouraged.

It is not necessary to state that such a thaw can only come about from politically courageous acts by both leaders. If such is forthcoming, than there is hope for a genuine rapprochement in the future.

 Commented by Dr Lee Poh Ping The Star/Asia News Network
> Dr Lee Poh Ping is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of China Studies in the University of Malaya. The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.

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DR LEE POH PING - CURRICULUM VITAE
PERSONAL DETAIL
Name		Dr. Lee Poh Ping
Designation		Senior Research Fellow
Department		Institute of China Studies
Faculty		Deputy Vice Chancellor(Research & Innovation)
E-mail Address		pohpinglee@um.edu.my
ResearcherID Link		http://www.researcherid.com/rid/B-8839-2010
Address(Office)		Institute of China Studies, Deputy Vice Chancellor(Research & Innovation) Building, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION (Qualification), (Institution).

PhD(Government) (1974), CORNELL UNIVERSITY, ITHACA

BA (History) (1967), UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA (UM)

RECENT SELECTED PUBLICATIONS (Publication).

Article In Academic Journals

2012

Fan Pik Wah & Lee Poh Ping.2012.Writing an Alternative View of History through Fiction: the Novels of Xiao Hei. Foreign Literature Studies 34 5) 142-149. (ISI/SCOPUS Cited Publication)

AREAS OF RESEARCH (Project title), (Role), (From)-(Until), (Source), (Level).

THE CHINA MODEL: IMPLICATIONS OF THE CONTEMPORARY RISE OF CHINA, Co-Investigator, 2013-2015, HIR

Mencatat Isu-isu Sensitif Selepas Kemerdekaan Malaysia: Kajian Novel Xiao Hei, Co-Investigator, 2012-2013, Geran Penyelidikan Universiti Malaya (UMRG), National

A true blue Malay Umno man is Chow Shui

The Star’s regular stories on history and national development have prompted a retired wet marker trader to share his stories on former Umno leaders, including past prime ministers.

Chow Shui, also known as Choo Ying Choy, has the distinction of personally knowing many of the country’s past leaders from the late Tunku Abdul Rahman’s time.

“I was quite close to Tun Ghafar Baba, Tun Ghazali Shafie and Tan Sri Aishah Ghani,” said Chow, 75, who used to ply his trade at Kuala Lumpur’s Pudu wet market.

As an unofficial representative of the Chinese living in the city, Chow was regularly spotted at Umno as well as Alliance (precursor of Barisan Nasional) gatherings.

“I was often asked to round up some key Chinese gatekeepers and community leaders so that the Barisan leadership could meet them,” he said in an interview.

He was particularly close to Aishah, the former Social Welfare Minister and Wanita Umno chief who passed away aged 90 in April last year, and whom he affectionately called “elder sister”.

Down memory lane: Then Minister for Information and Broadcasting Tan Sri Senu Abdul Rahman (right) and Aishah (second from right) attending a function, one of the many Chow (fifth from right) helped organise.

Down memory lane: Then Minister for Information and Broadcasting Tan Sri Senu Abdul Rahman (right) and Aishah (second from right) Down memory lane: Then Minister for Information and Broadcasting Tan Sri Senu Abdul Rahman (right) and Aishah (second from right) attending a function, one of the many Chow (fifth from right) helped organise.

“I was invited to her home every Hari Raya. In fact, I helped organise several of the Umno gatherings in town, including some attended by Tunku,” he said as he produced his Umno membership card to show that he is a life associate member.

He has amassed a small collection of monochrome photos over several decades of rubbing shoulders with politicians, and keeps a file of all the correspondence with Umno and the Federal Government.

Of particular significance is one image of Tun Razak Hussein, taken on the second prime minister’s historic visit to China in 1974.

Chow is particularly proud that he was able to hand over the reproduction of the 40-year-old photo to his son, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, when the Prime Minister visited the redevelopment of 1Razak Mansion public housing scheme in Kuala Lumpur in April.

The photo was given to Chow by Razak’s driver shortly after the statesman’s return from China. Najib was only 21 then.

“I was rather close to Razak’s driver, and we used to go out for meals when he was off duty.

“I enlarged the photo before framing it up. I then waited for Najib before handing it to him when he came over to 1Razak Mansion,” said Chow, adding that Najib later posted the event on his Facebook page.

“I could tell you more about the politicians back then, at least up to Razak’s time, as I had the chance to interact with them rather often,” said the sprightly father-of-four.

On Aishah, Chow said she was a no-nonsense politician who abhorred the rabble-rousing style of politics.

“She detested those who intentionally stirred up emotions to create chaos,” he added.

Contributed by Meng Yew Choong The Star/Asia News Network

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Malaysia Day, a historical black hole for Sabah

Happy (?) Malaysia Day and NEP2 for Malays

A historical black hole for Sabah - There is still a debate about wether North Borneo was a country, a state or a self-government in transition during the first couple of weeks of independence

THE last few days, I pretended to be an alien who only had four news clippings from 1963 to understand Malaysia Day (Sept 16, 1963).

I received the Sabah Times clippings dated Aug 31, Sept 3, Sept 19, and Sept 20 from Danny Wong, my classmate from La Salle Secondary School, Tanjung Aru in Kota Kinabalu.

Professor Dr Danny Wong Tze Ken is a historian who is the director of Universiti Malaya’s Global Planning and Strategy Centre.

I telephoned him a few days before Merdeka Day as I was writing an article on the formation of Malaysia.

“Do you know whether at the time the Union Jack was lowered in Kota Kinabalu on Aug 31, 1963, a Sabah flag was raised?” I asked.

“I don’t have the information off hand. Let me do some research and I’ll email you,” said the historian.

A few hours later, Wong wrote: “Just some pages from four issues of Sabah Times for your perusal. There’s mention of the Sabah flag, but no Union Jack.”

I then pored through four news clippings from the Sabah newspaper now called the New Sabah Times.

There’s a historical black hole on the status of Sabah from Aug31, 1963 (the day the British granted self-government to North Borneo, which Sabah was then called) to Sept 16, 1963 (when Sabah, Sarawak, Singapore and Malaya formed the Federation of Malaysia). I’ve had endless debates with historians, politicians and laymen on the subject.

Some think that Sabah was a country. Some think it was a state. Some think it was a self-government in transition to form Malaysia.

The romantic in me would like to think that my state was a country before it became part of Malaysia. But let me answer that question as an alien (who read four pages of Sabah Times).

The front page on Aug 31, 1963 was: “Sabah’s Historic Day”.

“Self-government means more responsibility,” said Donald Stephens, Sabah’s first Chief Minister who later became Tun Fuad Stephens.

“To me, as it must be to all people in Sabah, today is significant as the day on which we gain self-government,” he said.

Stephens also said: “Sabah Day will be remembered by our sons and daughters and their children’s children as the day on which we were handed over the reins of government of our own country.”

On the left of the article was a story with a headline “Give Your Full Support To Your New Govt – Governor.” The North Borneo Governor Sir William Goode’s Sabah Day greeting was: “Today is a historic day for Sabah. It marks the beginning of self-government and independence and the end of Colonial government.”

In the centre of the front page was an article “UN Team Receives Same Answer at Papar, Jesselton – ‘Malaysia Malaysia’.

“PAPAR: At Papar, the UN Team was first greeted by three posters by the side of the railway station. They read: “No Interference to the formation Malaysia on Aug 31 (1963)”, “Don’t waste time, Referendum Not Necessary” and “Go Home, Don’t Waste Time”.

The United Nations team was at Papar, a town about 30 minutes from Jesselton (as Kota Kinabalu was once called), for a hearing on Sabahans’ views about Malaysia.

Chan Chin On, who represented the Papar Branch of Sabah Alliance said, “after studying the pros and cons for the past two years, The Alliance had come to the conclusion that Malaysia was best for them as it would bring stability, economic development and prosperity.”

He said, “In Malaysia the people of the territories shared many things in common such as education, customs, language, religion and culture.”

Also on the front page was the headline: “Nasution gets tougher.” “JAKARTA: The Indonesian Defence Minister and Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, General Nasution, said that Indonesian people fully support the struggle of the North Kalimantan (North Borneo) people for their rights of self-determination.”

I, the alien (from outer space and not southern Philippines), was clueless as to why Nasution got tougher. The answer was on page 2 of the Sept 19, 1963 clipping.

In an editorial, Sabah Times wrote: “The strained relations between Malaysia and Indonesia have reached saturation point. Now it is either going to be a shooting hostility or eternal peace between the Malaysian region and Indonesia. The cards are down and the latter looks most impossible.”

“Latest reports indicated that Indonesians have decided upon the issue by burning the British Embassy building in Jakarta,” it continued.

“This could mean a retaliation against the angry demonstration held by more than 1,000 Malaysians in Kuala Lumpur yesterday when they smashed the Indonesian Embassy building in the Federal Capital and tore down the Indonesian flag and crest.”

The page 7 clipping dated Sept 3, 1963 was deja vu for most Sabahans. The headline was “Filipino launch seized”.

“LAHAD DATU: A motor launch named MANILA with 127 persons on board and a cargo of household appliances was captured by a Marine Police patrol boat here. According to reliable sources the launch was first seen at Tanjong Labian.”

The report revealed that Sabah’s PTI (Pendatang Tanpa Izin or illegal immigrant) problem had been there since 1963. It just got bigger in the 1990s and 2000s so that in some districts in Sabah, the illegal immigrants outnumber the locals.

Interestingly, if you fast forward to 2013, Tanjung Labian was the gunbattle scene in the Sulu invasion.

Page 6 and Page 7 of the Sept 20, 1963 Sabah Times revealed that my state was sexually liberal in the 1960s. The headlines screamed: “Jesselton goes gay on Malaysia Day” and “Beaufort goes gay”.

One Man's Meat by Philip Golingai The Star/Asia News Network

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Setting the right CEO for Malaysia Airlines (MAS)

Essentially, there is little time to shape up MAS before its competitors eat into its share of business. Khazanah should cast its net wider beyond the GLC fraternity and also look globally.

Don't compromise on setting things right for MAS. The airline needs a true blue aviation expert as new CEO

MALAYSIA Airlines (MAS) needs a true blue aviation expert as its new chief executive officer (CEO), and that is something Khazanah Nasional Bhd has to come to terms with.

The time to test the waters by hiring non-airline experts is over.

MAS is like an injured entity that needs to be operated on fast.

The national carrier needs a leader who knows the trade given the complexities of the airline business – someone who can differentiate between a full-service airline and low-cost operation.

The person must not be cajoled into believing that selling seats at the expense of yields is the best business strategy, and at the same time get the workforce to rally behind him to achieve success.

This is critical if Khazanah wants to see returns from its RM6bil investment that will go into saving MAS.

Bear in mind that Khazanah has not recovered the RM7bil investment it had already poured into the airline.

No doubt Khazanah does not want to set a new record for investing RM13bil in MAS without getting anything in return.

To recap, Khazanah had announced a 12-point plan to revive MAS. It will take it private, delist it, transfer the airline into a new company and relist it later.

It will cut 6,000 jobs, focus on regional profitable routes, and hopefully pay market prices for supplies.

To do all that and return to profit in 2017, it needs a new man at the top, someone with impeccable abilities and knowledge of the industry. The obvious choice will be someone from within the company, if there is one.

It will be hard to believe that Khazanah cannot find one person to run the show from the nearly 20,000 employees in MAS.

If that is the case, either the airline’s succession planning is non-existent or absolutely hopeless.

Airlines will normally employ from within the company or from other airlines to fill the top post.

In the case of Singapore Airlines (SIA), it has often been a home-grown candidate that has worked for 20 to 30 years with the airline.

MAS and SIA were formed from the same parent company decades ago.

SIA has become one of the best airlines globally although it grapples to keep its feet on the ground.

The current SIA CEO Goh Choon Phong came on board in 1990, worked 20 years, and became CEO in 2010.

His predecessor, Chew Choon Seng, joined SIA in 1972, and after 31 years became the CEO.

Chew took over from Malaysia-born Dr Cheong Choong Kong. Cheong was a mathematics lecturer in Universiti Malaya before he joined SIA in 1974.

After 29 years with the SIA, he was appointed CEO.

Unlike MAS, SIA has an unbroken record of profitability even through turbulent economic times.

Qantas head Alan Joyce is also a true aviation man, after his stints at Jetstar, Ansett Australia and Aer Lingus.

If no one from MAS can fit the bill, then obviously Khazanah will have to search from within the government-linked company (GLC) fraternity.

But should Khazanah make that compromise again?

Khazanah is said to be talking to several local and foreign candidates. Datuk Seri Shazally Ramly’s name has been mentioned several times although no deal has been hammered out yet.

Essentially, there is little time to shape up MAS before its competitors eat into its share of business. Khazanah should cast its net wider beyond the GLC fraternity and also look globally.

If Maxis Bhd can have Morten Lundal in its payroll, surely MAS can find someone prominent in the airline industry as its CEO, as long as it is willing to make that compromise.

Rob Fyfe, the former Air New Zealand CEO, is someone who has a proven track record in the aviation industry as are some people in SIA and even Cathay Pacific.

Khazanah must get the most capable talent to help MAS recover and for the agency to recoup its investments. Hopefully this will be the last revamp for MAS as nobody can stomach yet another restructuring three years down the road.

Contributed by BK Sidhu Reflections, The Star/Asia News Network

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Are the problems of Malaysia Airlines, symptomatic in other government-linked companies?. 

Malaysia's flight MH370 mistakes reflect stagnant politics; Bad apples in NZ sex crime..

Malaysia is poised to escape the middle-income trap, but also ready to fall back into it. Normally the middle-income trap refers to