Former Malaysian Prime Minister stated that Malaysians are "stupid" and do not have the expertise to manage aviation.

MOSCOW, December 7 (Sputnik) — Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has said that Malaysians are "stupid" and do not have the expertise to manage aviation, Malaysiakini news website reported Sunday.

"Malaysians are stupid. They don't know how to manage aviation," Mohamad was quoted as saying by the news outlet.

The statement followed the appointment of Christoph Mueller as CEO-designate of Malaysia Airlines. Mueller has been the CEO of Aer Lingus, Ireland's national airline, since 2009, and also held the position of executive vice president at Germany's Lufthansa.

Malaysia Airlines has been in the center of controversy in 2014 after the company's flight MH370 with 239 people on board disappeared in March, followed by the crash of flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine in July.

Flight MH370 was travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing when it went missing on March 8. The wreckage of the aircraft has not been found after months of search over the southern Indian Ocean.

Flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17, killing all 298 people on board. A preliminary report said it most likely broke up in mid-air after a large number of high-energy objects penetrated the fuselage. The Ukrainian government accused local independence supporters of bringing the aircraft down; however, militia leaders said they do not have weapons capable of hitting a plane flying at 32,000 feet.