Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Idris Jala has denied speculation that he is returning to the steer Malaysia Airlines (MAS) back on course.

"I've seen online reports speculating that I will be returning to MAS. I am not heading there. I will continue in my present role," said the Pemandu chief on Twitter this morning.

Idris was former chief executive officer of the national carrier until he left in 2009 and subsequently joined Prime Minister Najib Razak's cabinet to head the performance management department.

Idris was reported on Monday saying that he sees a future in MAS if it followed the business transformation plan 2 (BTP2) he introduced in 2008 before leaving the organisation.

MAS flagging fortunes took a nosedive after it hit a second disaster in two months with the MH17 tragedy, leading to Khazanah Nasional deciding to buy over the company in a last ditch rescue plan.

On Aug 8, MAS announced that Khazanah will offer 27 sen for each share in the company it does not own, amounting to nearly RM1.4 billion to take the troubled airline private.

 

MAS said Khazanah, which owns 69.37 percent of MAS, will undertake a comprehensive review and restructuring of the airline, which has suffered two jetliner disasters this year.

The move to delist MAS from the Malaysian stock exchange is due to the airline's unfavourable financial performance, having recorded a net loss for the past three years.

Khazanah’s move follows a difficult period for the airline since the disappearance of Flight MH370 on March 8.

The loss-making company's problems deepened on July 17 when its Flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.