Certain parties keen to purchase MAS, says Dr M
Published on: Thursday, March 21, 2019
By: Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: Certain parties in the country and abroad are interested to purchase the national carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (pic) said Wednesday.
The Prime Minister said, however, that the Government still wants to make a study before making the decision to sell the airline.
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“Certain parties are keen to purchase MAS, and we are not rejecting the offers. We want to study whether we need to sell (the airline) or not. Even when we appoint managers from abroad, MAS has continued to suffer losses,” he said.
When asked about the suggestion by former MAS management teams that the airline should remain under the Government, Dr Mahathir said the proposal will also be considered.
“I love MAS. I want MAS to be the national airline but it looks as if we cannot afford it,” he said.
Dr Mahathir said the previous government’s strategy of providing a RM6-billion allocation to Malaysia Airlines and retrenching 6.000 of its employees did not bring profits and left many aircraft not fully utilised.
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“After dismissing 6,000 employees, MAS was not flying as it used to, meaning the staff reduction did not make a difference. If we reduce the number of staff and maintain the previous status, then there will be savings,” he said.
It was reported on March 5 that Khazanah Nasional, the Government’s investme
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nt wing, suffered a RM7.3-billion depreciation last year, largely contributed by Malaysia Airlines.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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