Govt questioned over
decision to rent 28
helicopters
Opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin says it would have been more economical to buy the helicopters instead.
“Once again, someone is profiting,” he alleged in the Dewan Rakyat when debating the royal address.
Hamzah said buying the helicopters directly from the manufacturer would have cost only RM3.954 billion.
“Poland bought the same AugustaWestland 139 helicopters (AW139) – 32 units – for only US$2 billion, complete with an in-country assembly package. So why are we renting it for RM16.6 billion?”
He also compared Malaysia’s spending with that of the Philippines, which had bought 32 S70 Black Hawk helicopters for just US$600 million.
Hamzah said when Perikatan Nasional was in power, the home ministry, which he had headed, scrapped the helicopter rental plan after a study showed that buying them was more economical.
“We do not want another scandal like the littoral combat ship (LCS) fiasco. Have we not learned our lesson?”
The LCS project – reputed to be the largest defence procurement in Malaysia’s history with a total cost of RM9 billion – came under scrutiny in 2022 after it was revealed that not a single ship had been completed although Putrajaya had spent RM6.08 billion on it.
Hamzah said the air force already used 12 Eurocopter 725 helicopters, which are larger, stronger and better equipped compared with the AW139.
“Commonality, price and combat quality should be the government’s top consideration in military asset procurement.
“The EC725 is superior to the AW139 – it’s bigger, more durable and has a full flight simulator in the country.”
He said using only one type of helicopter would save money on maintenance.
Hamzah said in August 2024, Boustead received a RM378 million contract to maintain 12 EC725 helicopters for five years, costing only RM6.3 million per unit per year.
He then challenged the government to let the Public Accounts Committee probe the helicopter rental deal if Putrajaya “had nothing to hide”.
“(We don’t want) the rakyat to accuse the government of practising a ‘I-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine’ policy.”
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