bone,
few years ago, we had a few guys who 'move up north'. they were also b744 type-rated and MH hired them direct on the b744 right-seat. all of them got command within 2 years and now they are all commanders on A330 except for one.
the only difference i can see in your case is you are non-citizen. i really don't know what policy MH has cos honestly this has never happen before? I am assuming you are singaporean. MH does not have a 'local-term' non-malaysian before so this is something new.
currently, MH has a serious shortage of F/Os. this is due to the fact that management decided to stop completely our cadet program for a good 3-4 years in the mid-90s. as a result, we are now having excess captains. in fact, there has been almost no movement (to command position) over the last 3 years.
if you join now, you will probably be in the 1200+ seniority and there are about another good 300+ guys with criteria and ready for command so your prospect of getting command in the near future would not be too good. moreover i dont see much expansion in the near future.
after weighing all the facts, if you still think of joining, i dont see any harm in writing in to the company. precedence has already been set, so i dont see any prob hiring you direct into the b744 RHS.
good luck.
SR
ps: are things really that bad down there? my sincere sympathies. hope we never have to be face with similar situation.