Mahathir Mohamad weighs shutdown or sale of national carrier Malaysia Airlines

The prime minister said shutting down the national airline would be “a very serious matter” but he was weighing up the options

Sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional, which took over Malaysia Airlines in 2014, has demanded the carrier come up with a strategic plan to compete

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Malaysia Airlines aircraft at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Photo: EPA

Published: 4:59pm, 12 Mar 2019Updated: 10:11pm, 12 Mar 2019

The fate of Malaysia’s flag carrier is hanging in the balance as Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Tuesday he was studying his options, including whether to invest more funds, sell the company off or even shut it 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's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Photo: EPA

Malaysia Airlines, which was recently named the best airline in Asia by the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association at international tourism trade fair ITB Berlin, has sought to turn itself around since being taken private in 2014 by Khazanah Nasional Berhad – the Malaysian government’s sovereign wealth fund.

That followed two deadly incidents involving its planes, with one disappearing over the Indian Ocean and another being shot down over Ukraine.

The wealth fund is demanding the carrier come up with a strategic plan to compete in the industry, after pouring 6 billion ringgit (US$1.47 billion) into the airline to make it profitable.