Malaysia Airline (MAS) needs to boost professionalism in the management of the airline to stay competitive, and not privatisation.

Former MAS managing director Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman said MAS would be able to maintain its status as a national airline which would focus not solely on profit but also its social responsibility if it were not privatised.

"We do not have a fixed civil aviation policy, so the government has approved the setting up of airlines which have bigger capacity compared to the national airline. I think this policy is wrong," he said.

He said this at a media briefing after chairing the plenary session on the 'Rights to Equality in Education under Federal Constitution' at the pre-education congress in Kuala Lumpur today.

Abdul Aziz said Singapore has the Singapore Airlines and low-cost airline which was under it.

"We should have followed Singapore's move. We continue to give licences to them (other airlines) and they are competing with MAS," he said.

He said if MAS were to be privatised, the national airline would probably cease operating flights to interior routes in Sabah and Sarawak, which were not profitable.

"MAS is an airline not only for business but also to play a social role. Some of the routes were not profitable and some made money. If it is a private company, it would only fly profitable routes.

"Those not profitable, they would not operate them," he said.

Abdul Aziz, who was a pioneer when MAS was set up in 1971, said there was not need for the airline to hire foreigners in high positions.

"We do not need foreigners because we have the local talent. The foreigners do not understand the local situation and this why I never recruited them," he said.

- Bernama