PETALING JAYA: The Prime Minister's Office says that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad at no point suggested AirAsia's arrangement with Airbus were "offset payments" and not bribery. Dr Mahathir did not say that AirAsia was benefiting from this normal practice, said the Prime Minister's Office in a statement on Friday (Feb 7). It also described media reports – alluding that Dr Mahathir had suggested that allegations of bribery against AirAsia were offset payments – as "inaccurate and misleading". On Thursday, Dr Mahathir said it was normal to ask for an offset in business dealings as long as the money was not taken for personal use. Dr Mahathir said this when commenting on media reports on allegations of corruption involving AirAsia and Airbus.

Source: The Star February 07, 2020 09:45 UTC