KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): Tunku Datuk Mahmood Fawzy Muhiyiddin has resigned as non-executive chairman of AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) after nearly 1½ years with the medium haul, low cost affiliate of Capital A Bhd.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Friday, AAX said the reason given by Tunku Mahmood, 65, for his resignation was that he wants to "concentrate on areas of specific interest". Deputy chairman Datuk Fam Lee Ee will take over as acting chairman until the board of directors has formalised the appointment of a new chairman.

Tunku Fawzy was appointed as an independent non-executive director of AAX in June 2022. He was subsequently re-designated as chairman on Aug 1 that same year, replacing Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz.

According to AAX, Tunku Mahmood was instrumental in reshaping the airline’s financial status. AAX managed to get itself uplifted from its Practice Note 17 (PN17) status on Nov 22.

"Tunku Mahmood was appointed with a clear mandate to steer AAX in addressing its PN17 classification. Following his appointment, AAX has turned around its financial position from 12 quarters of losses to registering five consecutive quarters of net profit, recorded a positive shareholders’ equity, and demonstrated significant operational improvement across all other key metrics as evidenced in the third quarter of this year," the airline said in a separate statement.

AAX executive director and founder Datuk Kamarudin Meranun said: “We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Tunku Mahmood for his invaluable contributions to AAX's growth and success post-debt restructuring. His vision and dedication have been instrumental in reshaping AAX as a world-leading low-cost mid-range airline and we stand poised to continue our journey as a trailblazer in the aviation industry, leveraging the strong foundation laid under his stewardship. He will always be part of the AAX family and we wish him the best in his future endeavours."

AAX annual report 2022 revealed that Tunku Fawzy currently serves as chairman of Deutsche Bank (Malaysia) Bhd and EdgePoint Malaysia Holdings Sdn Bhd, in addition to serving as a board member of AIA General Bhd and Hong Leong Asset Management Bhd. He was formerly executive director (investments) with Khazanah Nasional Bhd and chief executive officer-cum-managing director of Engen Petroleum Ltd in South Africa.

In a separate filing, AXX also announced the resignation of Ahmad Al Farouk Ahmad Kamal, 43, as its independent and non-executive director. "After successfully achieving AirAsia X's key objective of exiting its PN17 status, Farouk will be pursuing other opportunities within AirAsia Group," it said, adding that his new post will be announced in due course.

Currently, Farouk serves as the CEO and chief investment officer of Urusharta Jamaah Sdn Bhd and is responsible for the management and rehabilitation of Urusharta Jamaah’s portfolio of equity assets.

AAX slipped into PN17 status in October 2021 after accumulating Covid-19 pandemic-caused losses, which resulted in negative shareholder equity for the airline.

AAX shares closed up 5 sen or 2.55% at RM2.01 on Friday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM898.6 million. Its share price has risen 235% so far this year.