Loke, who is the DAP secretary-general, said Lim Lip Eng (PH-Kepong) should not moot “nonsensical” proposals.
“He may be my friend and fellow party member, but I don’t agree (with what he said).
“Do not trivialise the aviation industry and don’t make statements that could result in polemics,” he said when winding up the debate on the 2026 budget for his ministry in the Dewan Rakyat.
Last week, Lim suggested that PAS should establish its own airline when he criticised the party’s MPs for suggesting that Malaysia Airlines should stop serving alcohol on its flights.
He said non-Muslims have the right to consume alcohol, and that many airlines operated by Gulf nations also serve alcohol on their flights.
“To PAS, if you don’t like this (practice), I suggest that you create your own airline called PAS Airlines,” he was quoted as saying.
Earlier this month, Hulu Selangor MP Hasnizan Harun called on the transport ministry to stop serving alcoholic beverages on Malaysia Airlines flights, saying the practice went against Islamic principles and put Muslim flight attendants in an uncomfortable position.
He claimed that passengers were also uncomfortable with alcohol being served on such flights.
It was not the first time that PAS had made such a call. Then PAS Youth deputy chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari made the suggestion in 2017 after a disruptive drunk passenger caused a MAS plane to turn back to Melbourne.
Commenting further on the issue, Loke said Malaysia Airlines had stopped serving alcohol on domestic flights for almost a decade.
He said such beverages were only served on international flights, and that airlines from other Muslim countries had also adopted such a practice, including Emirates, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Gulf Air, Turkish Airlines, and Garuda Indonesia.
He said that while the government respected the right of Muslims to not consume alcohol, it could not deny the rights of non-Muslim passengers on international flights.
He said the aviation industry depended on international routes, and “we need to be objective”.