Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz came out in support of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's commitment to purchase Boeing jets from the United States, claiming that it is necessary for the country’s tourism industry.

In his recent trip to the US, Najib told President Donald Trump that Malaysia Airlines would buy 25 Boeing 737 jets and eight 787 Dreamliners, with a further 25 737s in the near future, in a deal reportedly worth more than US$10 billion over five years.

Nazri said that it would be a shame for Malaysia Airlines to operate an ageing fleet of aircraft.

"The prime minister went on a shopping spree buying aircraft. Everybody was upset with him. I supported him because it is very important to revamp Malaysia Airlines," he said when officiating a conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

"We cannot compete with other airlines if we still have 15-year-old aircraft ferrying people. It would be shameful when (Tourism Ministry personnel) go overseas to promote Malaysia.

"People ask you ‘How do we get to Malaysia?’ I said we work with Singapore Airlines, so you can fly to Singapore before coming to Kuala Lumpur," he told the room of representatives from the tourism industry.

Nazri said he even “begged” for the help of Philippines Airlines to help ferry passengers from the US to Malaysia, with Malaysia filling up seats for the carrier in return.

Citing his own experience travelling to Istanbul in MAS’ business class, he said, "We were given tablets to watch (television) programmes. What is this?”

“We paid lots of money (for the trip), we don’t have (screens) in the aircraft, where you can watch from your seat, like with (Dubai-based airline) Emirates. They gave us tablets in business class,” he said.

Nazri added that Najib made the Boeing deal for a reason.

"You must understand when the prime minister does something, this is because for a reason. I want to say, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, thank you very much," he said.

Critics have poured scorn on Najib's proposed deals with the US, which he said were designed to "strengthen the US economy." 

Aside from the plan to purchase the Boeing jets, the proposed deals include persuading AirAsia to purchase General Electric aircraft engines, as well as increasing Khazanah Nasional and the Employees' Provident Fund's investments in the US.