Govt receives 4 proposals on MAS turnaround plan

PUTRAJAYA: The government has received four proposals from interested parties to turn around Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAS).

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, however, said no decision has been made on the proposals yet.

"No decisions yet. People are only making offers, there are some interested in buying over and there are also those who only want to manage operations," he said.

Dr Mahathir said this to reporters after closing the TVET Conference 2019 themed 'Human Capital Development To Enhance Future Skills Agenda' here, today.

The prime minister stressed that the government was studying the proposals carefully before any decision is made.

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad delivers his speech during the closing ceremony of the TVET Conference 2019 in Putrajaya. - NSTP/Ahmad Irham Mohd Noor.

"We have to study it carefully because we have changed it (management) many times and it didn't work out.

"So we must find somebody who has the experience," he said.

Dr Mahathir added that the proposals were mostly from local companies.

"Well, they (local companies) think they are very capable. We had appointed many (locals) before but all of them prove to be incapable," he said.

On why MAS had failed, Dr Mahathir said the national carrier had to compete with low-cost carriers.

It was reported last week that a group of businessmen, led by AirAsia Group Bhd co-founder and former chairman Datuk Pahamin Ab Rajab, met Dr Mahathir to express their interest in helping the government turn around the ailing MAS.

The topic of selling MAB made headlines again after Dr Mahathir, who is also the chairman of Khazanah Nasional Bhd, said on March 12 that Malaysia is willing to consider selling the national carrier if there is a good offer for the company.

The move was mooted after four failed restructuring attempts involving the national carrier.

On March 25, Council of Eminent Persons chairman Tun Daim Zainuddin was reported as saying that several foreign companies, including those from Europe, Asia and the Middle East, were keen to acquire a stake in Malaysia Airlines.

The national carrier had recorded losses even before the disappearance of Flight MH370 and the subsequent shooting down of Flight MH17.

In 2014, it unveiled a five-year recovery plan to turn around the company, with the aim of returning to profit by 2018.

However, it missed the target amid a challenging business environment, no thanks to the stiff competition, rising fuel prices, adverse foreign exchange rates and crew shortage.

The national carrier’s accumulated loss also amounted to RM2.35 billion between 2015 and 2017.