Investigation ordered on Mahathir’s plane after sabotage claim: Liow

(CNA) – The government has ordered an immediate investigation into claims made by Mahathir Mohamad that the private jet that was to take him to Langkawi earlier on Friday (Apr 27) might have been sabotaged.

Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said the Department of Civil Aviation had been ordered to investigate the matter.

“This is a serious claim, we take it seriously. At the same time, we hope this is also not a political stunt. This is not a matter to be used for political exploitation,” he said in a statement on Friday.

Liow said the captain and the owner of the private jet would be asked to give their statements.

“This is a serious matter regarding aviation safety and we do not want anyone to have any doubts on our standards and compliance,” he said.

So far there had been no report made by the pilot, he added.

According to media reports, Mahathir claimed that the the pilot of the plane that he had boarded cancelled the flight just before takeoff after detecting some damage and immediate repairs could not be made.