KUALA LUMPUR, July 2 — Kinabatangan MP Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin today savaged “AirAsia’s CEO” as a “rude Malay” who is not fit to live in Malaysia, in an apparent reference to the run-in between Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia and AirAsia X chief executive Azran Osman Rani (picture).

The Barisan Nasional (BN) backbencher suddenly lashed out at the budget long-haul carrier’s CEO during the debate on the royal address, telling the airline’s top executive to migrate to another country if he was unhappy living in Malaysia.

The Sabah lawmaker did not, however, specifically name Azran in his tirade. AirAsia’s chief executive is Aireen Omar, who is also a Malay.

“People like this are not qualified to be in this country and he [should] migrate to another country that he likes,” he said.

The vocal Sabah Umno lawmaker continued to rain scorn on the AirAsia chief despite reminders by Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia not to abuse his parliamentary privilege as an elected representative and to keep his comments to the topic at hand.

“When the AirAsia CEO... when the AirAsia CEO threatened to withdraw every AirAsia advertisement from Utusan Malaysia, that is a threat... he forgets that his existence in this country is because of the stability of the country which has given them the opportunity to do business.

“Ini Melayu biadap namanya (This is a rude Malay),” Bung said.

Azran had drawn the Malay daily’s ire and rebukes from several right-leaning Malay leaders several weeks ago over his controversial remarks against Utusan Malaysia in the wake of Election 2013.

The AirAsia X chief — a nephew of Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim — had criticised Utusan Malaysia on his Twitter account, @azranosmanrani, for what he reportedly saw as a racial instigation in the aftermath of the May 5 polls, and Malay group Perkasa for its hardline stance as an irrelevant organisation that had caused Malays to be myopic.

In response, the paper had published daily views from Perkasa leaders, the Muslim Consumers Society of Malaysia and pro-Umno activists who slammed Azran, branding him “arrogant” and a Malay who had forgotten his roots, mooting a campaign to boycott the airline and its advertisements.