The hike in passenger service charge (PSC) at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) is nothing but to rescue airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings BHD (MAHB).

In claiming this, Petaling Jaya Utara lawmaker Tony Pua referred to the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) which was reported by The Malaysian Insight as saying that it is unsustainable for the PSC rates to remain unchanged as the cost of operating the "larger and more advanced" KLIA2 is higher.

Pointing out how the opposition had continuously warned the government on the "inflated costs and questionable decisions" made by MAHB in the construction of KLIA2, Pua, however, said that the higher costs were not due to Mavcom's description of a "more advanced airport".

"Firstly, it is due to more than RM5 billion worth of borrowings MAHB took to finance the airport which today incurs more than RM250 million in interest per annum...