Four proposals to take over Malaysia Airlines have been received, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Tuesday.
Most of the proposals are from local companies who have either offered to buy shares or offered to manage the company, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.
According to SCMP, the airline went through two chief executives between January 2015 and October 2017. Towards the end of 2017, Izham Ismail from Khazanah took control of the airline.
In June, Izham told SCMP that he did not support closing or selling the airline, since both would mean the loss of approximately half a million jobs. Instead, he hoped to secure partners to reform the airline.
Meanwhile, PM Mahathir has emphasized that the airline needs "somebody with experience," after its sole shareholder, sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad, demanded the airline produce a strategic plan to become profitable.
"Many people have made offers - some want to buy, some want only to manage. We are looking closely at these proposals," Channel News Asia quoted Mahathir as saying. "So we must find somebody with the experience."
Mahathir also emphasized that regardless of who takes charge of Malaysia Airlines, the airline's identity as the country's national carrier must be retained, Channel News Asia noted.