KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Friday (Feb 7) sought to clarify comments he made on bribery allegations linked to AirAsia Group.

He said he had not intended to describe the alleged bribery as offset payments and said it would be up to investigators to determine the matter, Reuters reported.

Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said last week that European aircraft manufacturer Airbus paid a bribe of US$50 million (S$69.5 million) to executives of AirAsia and its long-haul arm AirAsia X to win plane orders.

AirAsia is the world’s biggest customer of the A-321neo single-aisle aircraft and runs an all-Airbus fleet of 274 planes.

AirAsia co-founders Tony Fernandes and Kamarudin Meranun have both denied wrongdoing and relinquished their executive roles for at least two months while the SFO’s allegations are probed.

Tun Dr Mahathir, when asked by reporters on Thursday about Britain’s investigation into the case, said he would not pronounce a verdict, but that any arrangement should be considered as a quid pro quo deal.

“Often when governments buy equipment, we always ask for an offset… If we can get something because we buy something at a high price, why can’t we accept it?” he told reporters.

“If the money we get is pocketed, that is corruption. But if that money is for a certain purpose, it would be an offset instead of a bribe. That’s my view.”

On Friday, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said it in a statement, as quoted by Free Malaysia Today news site, that at no point did Dr Mahathir suggest allegations of bribery against AirAsia were offset payments.

“He did not say that AirAsia was benefiting from this normal practice. He said that only if the money goes to individuals that it becomes a bribe.

“If it is not for personal benefit then it is not a bribe in his view,” said the statement.

The PMO said the media should be more sensitive as misleading reports such as this could have undesirable consequences on the public’s understanding of issues.

Malaysia’s Securities Commission, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Malaysian Aviation Commission have all announced their own investigations into the allegations.

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