SEPANG: The Transport Ministry has met with the new potential investors of MYAirline Sdn Bhd amid heightened talks on the potential takeover of the financially-troubled carrier.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the ministry had discussed on the way forward for the airline and how it would position itself should it resume operations.
"I have given them some general advice on how to go about it and they should look at some other segments. It's not just in terms of domestic (segment)… How do you position yourself to make it more attractive?
"But any commercial decision is entirely up to them. As far as the government is concerned, they have to comply with all our process in terms of regulations, in terms of applying to the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) and also to the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM)," Loke said.
He was speaking to the media at the launch of the special send off of for Batik Air's Sibu route today.
When asked if the new investors are from the Middle East, Loke said MYAirline had informed the ministry that there are partners from the Middle East and a local company.
"At this point of time I think it's a bit premature for us to say who. They just came to see us. They said (about) their intention to invest in the company (MYAirline).
"I said that is your decision. As long as you comply with our laws, no problem," Loke said, adding that 51 per cent of MYAirline must be owned by a Malaysian company while 49 per cent can be owned by a foreign entity.
Business Times reported on Feb 6 that the new investor, believed to be a Middle East-based investment firm, was still keen to pump in money into MYAirline.
The carrier is currently fleet-less as its 10th and final aircraft has been deregistered.
Speaking on the merger between CAAM and Mavcom, Loke said the process is still ongoing and the ministry hopes to table it in Parliament by this year.
In 2019, the minister had announced the plan to merge the two aviation regulators into one.
Loke said in October 2023 that the bill to repeal the Mavcom Act 2015 (Act 771) and amend the CAAM Act 2017 will be brought to Parliament in the first session of sitting in 2024.
Currently, Malaysia is one of the few countries that have two aviation regulators - Mavcom and CAAM.
Mavcom oversees the finance, commercial and economics side of an airline while CAAM looks at the technical aspect.