Speaking at a press conference at Grand Hyatt Hotel here, today, Liow said his ministry had received the Department of Civil Aviation’s (DCA) report on the Shariah-compliant airline and would hold a meeting soon to decide if the airline could continue or cease its operations.
“The final report has been passed to me. We will set a date to meet and decide on the future of the airline.”
Liow said this when responding to questions about the fate of the airline that the DCA imposed a three-month suspension on, following a barrage of complaints lodged against it, and a strike by its pilots.
On another matter, Liow dubbed as “not fair”, the conduct of Tourism Malaysia Chairman Wee Choo Keong, who was reported to have lost his cool at the mere sight of AirAsia buntings at the Malaysian booth at the Beijing International Tourism Expo over the weekend.
Wee had also reportedly instructed his staff to take down the buntings, and purportedly even physically broke one of the buntings himself.
Liow said he would seek an explanation from Wee about what actually transpired in Beijing as Malaysian representatives at a global event were supposed to promote the country and its airlines.
“We should encourage tourism and support local airlines. I will call him (Wee) to explain,” Liow said.
Wee’s purported outburst prompted AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes to take to Facebook, saying that the former had been “tormenting” the budget carrier for many years.
Wee, a former MP, had in the past, openly criticised AirAsia and accused the airline of owing RM50 million in airport tax to Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad. The airline filed a lawsuit against Wee last year, alleging frequent defamatory claims by him against them.