IT is safer to travel on a budget airline with the public than to fly private, said PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang in a jibe at Dr Mahathir Mohamad, following the Pakatan Harapan chairman’s jet-tampering claims last week.

In a Facebook post today, Hadi said he does not own a private aircraft and flies on low-cost carriers, like many Malaysians do.

“Inshaallah, it is safer and it is guaranteed there won’t be a flat tyre.”

On Friday, Dr Mahathir said the plane he was supposed to fly to Langkawi on had been sabotaged, and that it was an attempt at preventing him from filing his nomination the following day.

The 93-year-old former prime minister is being investigated under the Anti-Fake News Act 2018 for his statements.

He said he is not afraid of the police probe, having been investigated numerous times before.

Former finance minister Daim Zainuddin has described the anti-fake news investigation as “silly”.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia, upon investigating Dr Mahathir’s sabotage claims, said there was no sign the aircraft had been tampered with.

Its chairman, Azahruddin Abdul Rahman, said the plane was unable to proceed with the scheduled flight due to an air leakage from the left-hand nose wheel, which is a minor and routine technical fault. – May 3, 2018.