Sarawak agrees to take over MASwings

KUCHING: Sarawak has agreed in principle to take over MASwings in its bid to set up its own boutique airline, says Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.

The Sarawak premier said the takeover was a proposal from the Federal Government.

“We are now negotiating the details. We have to do our due diligence,” he told reporters yesterday when asked about the state government’s plans to set up a boutique airline.

Abang Johari said it was important to look into getting MASwings to fly to destinations beyond Borneo.

“At the moment, MASwings cannot fly to Kuala Lumpur, whereas we want to fly to Kuala Lumpur as well as Singapore.

“But in principle, the state government agrees to take over MASwings,” he said.

This development marks a revival in Sarawak’s interest in taking over MASwings, a regional airline serving Sarawak and Sabah.

The Sarawak and Sabah governments first proposed acquiring equity in MASwings in 2012, but the plan was shelved a year later.

Both state governments revived their interest in the plan in 2015, announcing that they wanted to turn MASwings into a regional airline serving Asean and East Asian countries.

By 2017, however, Sarawak was no longer keen to take over MASwings due to difficulties in negotiations with its parent company.

In April this year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim agreed in principle to Sarawak’s request to form a boutique airline.