KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Former Malaysia Airlines Bhd chief executive officer Peter Bellew has denied that there was outside interference when he was at the helm of the national carrier.

"There was no interference from any parties, be it Khazanah Nasional Bhd or government over my resignation. In fact, Khazanah was convincing me to stay," Bellew told a press conference on Sunday (Oct 22).

He said the accusations made by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that the interference had led to his departure "are completely untrue".

Mahathir had claimed in a blog posting that Bellew quit MAS due to inteference from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Bellew has taken up a post at Ryanair.