GOVT TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING MERPATI

Jakarta, Aug 7 (ANTARA) - The government will continue to maintain Merpati Nusantara Airlines (MNA) although the airline is losing an average monthly loss of Rp20 billion, a minister said.

The government was making every effort to rescue Merpati with the least possible amount of funds, State Enterprises Minister Sofyan Djalil said at the presidential office here on Thursday.

The minister said Merpati was still needed because it was serving air transportation routes between small cities in the country.

He said the government had no plan to merge Merpati with Garuda Indonesia. "Garuda has just recovered. How can it help Merpati."
On Thursday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called a limited cabinet meeting at the presidential office to discuss Merpati's financial conditions.

Also present at the meeting were Vice President Jusuf Kalla, State Enterprises Minister Sofyan Djalil, Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani and Minister/State Secretary Hatta Radjasa.

Jusman said he did not rule out the possibility that the government would move Merpati's head office to Makassar, South Sulawesi, and replace its jet planes with propeller-driven ones.

The government has reshuffled the airline's board of directors as part of efforts to improve its performance by appointing Bambang Bhakti as president director to replace Cucuk Suryo Suprojo and Abbhy Widya as operations director to replace Nikmatullah Rahmatullah Zaman.

Merpati is planning to lay off 1,500 out of its 2,590 employees to overcome its financial difficulties.

The airline now has a fleet of 20 planes.