The government will not rescue Malaysia Airlines (MAS) from its financial plunge. It must learn to soar again on its own.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said today that the airlines, hit by financial turbulence, will have to find ways to recover as the government will not bail it out.

As such, the national carrier "must find its own strength," he was quoted as saying in a Bernama report.

But Abdullah, who is also finance minister, promised that the government would provide the appropriate assistance and if necessary, lend financial aid.

Abdullah said MAS' turnaround plan, which enters its second phase commencing yesterday, will be submitted to the Cabinet in February.

He also said that he wants MAS and budget airlines, AirAsia to work together as smart partners.

MAS had on Wednesday announced a net loss of RM367.7 million in the second quarter ended Sept 30, 2005, bringing its half year net loss to RM684.4 million.

The turnaround initiatives, which started in September, concentrated on efforts to intensify revenue growth, increase yield and enhancement of cost efficiency.

Fare hike

Previously, it was reported that MAS was planning to raise fares and sell assets as part of a strategy to turn the troubled national carrier around.

Deputy Transport Minister Douglas Uggah Embas was quoted as saying that the price hike across all its routes will "be done carefully so as to remain competitive and attractive to travellers.

"The management is also looking at selling some of its assets but this will be done without affecting its operations," Embas said.

Other measures include reviewing the capacity and frequency of its routes, reducing its operating costs and introducing a fuel hedge to combat high global oil prices, he added.

The airlines also appointed a new chief executive Idris Jala and recently announced its third hike in fuel surcharges within the last two months.

Newspaper reports have said the airlines plans to slash the pay of top managers from Dec 1 and reduce the size of its overall workforce.