Because of this, he said, a decision cannot be made this year.

“We (Khazanah Nasional) just had our board meeting on Dec 17. The matter was discussed, but the proposal presented in the board meeting was not attractive enough for us to decide,” he told reporters after giving a speech at the Kuala Lumpur Summit here today.

In October, Azmin said Khazanah and Malaysia Aviation Group Bhd (MAG) had invited 20 potential investors to partner with Malaysia Airlines.

The month before, they had shortlisted four strategic investors for further evaluation, saying a decision would likely be made by the end of 2019 or early next year.

Azmin said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the board had agreed to consider other options before coming to a final decision.

He said Khazanah had received several other proposals by aspiring strategic partners from the region as well as elsewhere around the globe.