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Mahathir says he's weighing shutdown, sale of Malaysia Airlines
Malaysia Airlines has sought to turn itself around since being taken private by sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional in 2014. That followed tragic incidents involving one of its planes disappearing over the Indian Ocean and another being shot down over Ukraine. Khazanah is demanding the carrier come up with a strategic plan to compete in the industry, after pouring in 6 billion ringgit ($1.5 billion) into the airline to make it profitable.
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A Malaysian man walks in front of a mural of missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 plane in a back-alley in Shah Alam on March 8, 2016. Malaysia and Australia said they remained (Agence France -Presse/MANAN VATSYAYANA )
P
rime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he’s studying options for flag carrier Malaysian Airline System, including whether to invest more funds, sell it off or even shut the company down.
“It is a very serious matter to shut down the national airline,” he told reporters at parliament. “We will nevertheless be studying and investigating as to whether we should shut it down or we should sell it off or whether we should refinance it. All these things are open for the government to decide. We have to decide soon.”
Malaysia Airlines has sought to turn itself around since being taken private by sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional in 2014. That followed tragic incidents involving one of its planes disappearing over the Indian Ocean and another being shot down over Ukraine. Khazanah is demanding the carrier come up with a strategic plan to compete in the industry, after pouring in 6 billion ringgit ($1.5 billion) into the airline to make it profitable.
While the carrier has no Boeing 737 Max aircraft in its fleet, it expects to receive deliveries of that model in 2020. The government has asked Khazanah and Malaysia Airlines to revisit that agreement with Boeing Co. to ensure the safety of passengers, Minister of Economic Affairs Azmin Ali said on Monday.
A representative for Malaysia Airlines didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
