Dr M says might have to ground Malaysia Airlines operations
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said on Wednesday that there is a possibility that Malaysian Airlines will have to ground all it’s flights.
He was speaking to the Dewan Rakyat about how despite several management changes, the national carrier has not been able to be successfully revived, and as such, all it’s flights may need to be stopped in order to save on operational costs.
“Each of them promised to revive Malaysia Airlines but unfortunately, they couldn’t overcome the airline’s problems.
That is why today, we face the possibility of flights being stopped altogether so that we can save money to revive (Malaysia Airlines).”
Dr Mahathir via Free Malaysia Today
According to Dr Mahathir, Putrajaya is currently open to all proposals, including takeover and collaboration offers by other airlines. Though he stressed that whatever the government decides to do, the Malaysian identity of the airline, and all its current staff, will be retained.
“All of this will be reviewed by Malaysia Airlines’ management and the government, so that when we act on it, Malaysia Airlines won’t just be revived but will perform better.
We also hope that whatever measures we take, we won’t need to retrench employees.”
Dr Mahathir via Free Malaysia Today
He was answering a supplementary question by Jeli MP Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, a.k.a Tok Pa, about a sustainable plan for Malaysia Airlines in the face of domestic and international competition.
We truly hope Malaysia Airlines will find it’s forever home soon! Despite it not doing well, it has and always will have a special place in our hearts!
