Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohammad has said Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has to stop being in denial over its fate and accept the reality that it needed to be privatised.

"Despite promises to turn around things, they don't turn around at all and get worse.

"There comes a time you have to accept that you are in denial, if you refuse to accept the fact, you are not going to do well.

"Once you accept that, then the processes like privatisation can begin," he told a press conference in Shah Alam this evening.

Mahathir said MAS could rope in outside expertise to help with the privatisation process and there were sufficient local talents to assist on this.

The former prime minister had last month called for MAS' privatisation to save the ailing career.

MAS had in recent years suffered heavy losses but its most serious blow came after its aircraft Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 and remains lost to date.

A total of 239 people including crew members were on board the aircraft when it vanished.

It is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean but an international search effort has proven futile thus far.