KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak was only scaring off workers of Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAS) when he claimed that Putrajaya was planning to sell off the airline.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was only presenting the sale of the airline as one of several options to resolve its financial conundrum.
“Mahathir never said that the government wanted to sell or close down the the airline,“ he said. “Najib was just creating alarm among the workers and creating problems.”
Lim was speaking to reporters after launching the RM1 billion Sustainable Development Financing Fund that will be managed by the Malaysian Development Bank here today.
In a tongue-in-cheek comment, Lim said Najib should instead focus on dogs and other pets “to ensure the smooth running of his daily life without interruptions”.
He was taking a jab at the former prime minister’s lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah for asking for Najib’s corruption trial to be postponed because he broke his wrist while playing with his pet dog.
On Tuesday, Mahathir told reporters in Parliament that the government had to come up with solutions to address the problems faced by MAS. Among the options were to sell it off, refinance it or shut it down.
At a press conference later, Lim thanked the bank for setting up the Industry Sustainable Education Fund.
Bank chairman Datuk Zaiton Mohd Hassan said the financial institution would contribute RM10 million to the fund.
