PUTRAJAYA has yet to make a decision whether to sell flag carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB), said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said the financial haemorrhage and poor management have brought the airline to a state where it is difficult for the government to save it.

The prime minister said the government, via Khazanah Nasional Bhd, had injected RM6 billion into the airline in 2014 for its turnaround plan.

In addition to that, MAB had also laid off 6,000 people and several major routes were discontinued.

“If you cut the number of people but there is less work, there is no actual gain,” Dr Mahathir said at a special pool interview held in conjunction with Pakatan Harapan’s one year anniversary. 

“Everyone tells me we should do it this way or that way, but we have not received any viable solution.”

Selling the airline, he said, is an option as there are many flag carriers of other nations which have been sold.

MAB appears to have missed the main goal of the turnaround plan, which was to return back to the black by the end of 2017.

Dr Mahathir said the emergence of low-cost airlines has made the aviation sector more competitive. – May 6, 2019.