Govt orders probe into ‘sabotage’

Liow: We are taking Dr M’s claim that private jet was tampered with seriously

PETALING JAYA: The Government has ordered an immediate investigation into an allegation by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that there was a possibility of his plane to Langkawi being sabotaged.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) had been ordered to investigate.

“This is a serious accusation and the Transport Ministry takes this very seriously.

“I’m suspicious that this came up on nomination eve. At the same time, we hope that this was not a political stunt.

“We want to investigate whether this is real or merely political exploitation,” he said when contacted.

Liow said the captain and the owner of the private jet would be asked to give their statements and that any sabotage on an aircraft would be considered a very serious offence.

“This is a serious matter regarding aviation safety and we do not want anyone to have any doubts about our standards and compliance,” said Liow, adding that no report had been made by the pilot until now.

During a Pakatan Harapan high

tea event in Langkawi yesterday, Dr Mahathir claimed that his private jet had been tampered with at Subang airport, causing his flight to be delayed by several hours.

“The captain said that something was wrong with the tyres and he wouldn’t fly.

“I called all my friends with planes and suddenly, no one would lend me their plane.

“Luckily, I met someone with a plane who was flying to Singapore.

“He graciously lent me his plane and cancelled his trip,” Dr Mahathir told reporters later.

He said he never had such problems before and claimed that efforts were made to stop him from reaching Langkawi to file his nomination papers today.

The former premier, who will be contesting the Langkawi parliamentary seat, landed on the island yesterday with a stuffed nose and a brief bout of forgetfulness.

He could not remember the name of the 27yearold maritime and aerospace show he helped create while giving a speech.

Dr Mahathir was itemising all the good he had done for Langkawi throughout his time as prime minister.

The speech was smooth till he came to Lima (Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition).

“Langkawi ... uh ... um ... International Maritime Show ... um ... (long pause) argh!” he said in exasperation yesterday.

Someone in the audience at the gathering of the Pakatan women’s group then supplied the word “aerospace” and Dr Mahathir thanked him.

“Lupa lah (forgot),” Dr Mahathir told the audience, adding that he had a cold as well.

We want to investigate whether this is real or merely political exploitation. Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai