In a Facebook post, the Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman said he had no direct association with the airline or its shareholders.
“I also do not possess any knowledge about this company’s background.
“My (own) search indicates that this company received conditional approval for an air service licence on Dec 22, 2021, during the time when I was no longer the prime minister,” he said.
Muhyiddin also said the fact that law firm Rosli Dahlan Saravana Partnership (RDS) was acting as legal counsel for MYAirline’s shareholders had nothing to do with him.
“RDS, as a law firm, has the right to represent anyone in need of its legal services,” he added.
Rosli Dahlan, a partner in the firm, once acted as lead counsel for 1MDB and currently represents Muhyiddin in his defamation suit against Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Muhyiddin said there were “certain individuals” who were attempting to tarnish his reputation by making baseless accusations about his involvement with the airline.
“Let’s put an end to this dirty and cheap politics,” the Pagoh MP said.
Last week, MYAirline said it had reached the “extremely painful decision” to suspend operations immediately because of significant financial pressures, adding that it was also unable to commit to any timeframe as to when it could resume operations.
After news of the suspension broke, transport minister Loke Siew Fook criticised MYAirline for its hasty decision affecting 125,000 MYAirline passengers who had already purchased RM20 million worth of tickets until March 2024.
Calling the airline’s actions irresponsible and unacceptable, Loke said the abrupt decision caught the transport ministry and the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) by surprise as they were not given any prior notice.
The airline yesterday admitted that its sudden suspension of operations was due to its lack of a back-up plan to resolve its faltering finances, and that its failure to inform passengers of the suspension stemmed from an “oversight”.
Earlier today, the police confirmed that MYAirline’s co-founder and majority shareholder Goh Hwan Hua had been arrested last night along with two members of his family.
They had been detained to facilitate investigations under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (Amla).
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