“Certainly the discussion is on the table,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby today.
“We are looking at all proposals that come in to ensure that Khazanah will not be burdened to inject more capital into Malaysia Airlines. Options are still being discussed.”
Sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd, which took Malaysia Airlines private in 2014, invested RM6 billion in the business in a bid to return it to profitibility within three years.
Some RM19.5 billion has been poured into the troubled carrier since the 1990s.
Azmin said the government hopes to conclude the discussion as soon as possible, but wants to ensure that it finds the right partner to inject the capital.
On the payment of petroleum royalties to oil-producing states such as Sabah, Sarawak, Kelantan and Terengganu, he said the Pakatan Harapan government had agreed to make cash payments to the state governments.
He said he had read that payments were made to Kelantan yesterday, and that Terengganu has been paid in full.
“I was informed that Petronas will be making payments to the finance ministry, and that the finance ministry will channel the payments to the relevant state governments,” he added.
On claims that the advanced royalty payments made by the ministry in September were actually compassionate payments, Azmin said he was not sure.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had said that the federal government made the payments in September. Lim also said the payments were made four months in advance as they were supposed to be paid in January next year.
However, Kelantan Menteri Besar Ahmad Yakob reportedly denied that the payments made were royalty payments.
Azmin also dismissed claims by PKR veteran Syed Husin Ali that he had wanted to exit the party and start a new entity, saying Syed Husin’s views have no political effect.
“Maybe he is jealous of Tun M’s success, and that Tun M gets overwhelming support from the people. So that’s typical,” he said.
He also maintained that he would remain in PKR, supporting both its leaders and grassroots members.