KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak had not specifically suggested the possibility of bankruptcy to save loss-making Malaysia Airlines (MAS) from its problems post-MH370, Putrajaya clarified today, after the prime minister’s remarks in an international newspaper earned widespread publicity here.

In a brief statement today, a government spokesman noted that during Najib’s interview with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on April 24, the prime minister had acknowledged that “different modalities” have been suggested to save MAS from its problems.

The spokesman confirmed that bankruptcy was raised in the question put forward to Najib during the interview, which was published last week, and reproduced numerous times in a number of publications here.

Najib, according to the spokesman, had been asked: “Bankruptcy has been mentioned in some quarters as a solution to Malaysia Airlines’ problems. What’s your view of that?”

The prime minister responded: “Well, different modalities have been suggested. But we have to look at it from all angles, bearing in mind that MAS is a government-linked company. It’s not a private company, so there are certain repercussions in what you want to do in terms of how it is being received by the employees and the general public.”

The clarification from Putrajaya comes following reports that MAS’s shares took a sharp tumble for a second day today, falling by as much as 21 per cent to hit a record low of 15 sen.

According to a report on Reuters, investors were likely spooked by the WSJ report last week, which had quoted Najib as saying that bankruptcy could be an option to save MAS from its troubles post-MH370.

In the WSJ article last Friday, it was reported that: “Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak acknowledges it might be too late to save Malaysia Airlines in its current form. Bankruptcy might be one among several options as a way to restructure the firm after years of losses and bitter conflicts with its labor unions, he said in an interview.”

The report was carried a day after the ailing carrier’s filing to Bursa Malaysia where it announced yet another staggering RM443 million loss in the first quarter of this year.

In the filing, MAS said the disappearance of MH370 had a “had a dramatic impact on the traditionally weak first quarter performance”.

In the same period of last year, MAS lost RM279 million.

The disappearance of MH370 that carried 153 Chinese nationals among the 239 people on board has hit the carrier’s market in China most, causing it to lose 60 per cent of its sales there.

Last week’s announced loss also follows the swathe of red ink that has already been splashed on its books.

This February, MAS announced a worse-than-expected fourth quarter result for 2013 that saw it rack up another RM343 million in losses, putting the airline RM1.17 billion in the red for the entirety of 2013.

In 2011, it chalked up a record loss of RM2.5 billion.

Analysts are increasingly raising the prospect of a bankruptcy or heavy restructuring of the group to stave off the looming disaster.

Last month, MAS chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said it could take the airline as long as six months to recover from the impact of MH370, but indications are surfacing to suggest it is running out of time.

In 2005, MAS underwent a business turnaround plan under Datuk Seri Idris Jala, now minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of the country’s economic performance, which reversed the losses that was traced back to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.

But despite the publicised turnaround, the airline soon fell back into the red and registered its worst loss in 2011.

MH370 disappeared after leaving Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on March 8 with 239 people on board.

After two months of intensive search, the hunt has now been scaled back to an undersea operation in the southern Indian Ocean west of Australia that is expected to take between eight to 12 months.