Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today told Parliament that his ministry does not know about allegations that state secrets had been sold to foreign countries.
"As far as the ministry knows, to date, there has been no detection of information being leaked out of Malaysia," he said in his adjournment speech to Parliament about 10 minutes before midnight.
"As far as the ministry knows, to date, there has been no detection of information being leaked out of Malaysia," he said in his adjournment speech to Parliament about 10 minutes before midnight.
Parliamentarians debated through the night on the Budgetsupplementary bill before Zahid stood up to provide his promised explanation on the alleged leak in military secrets.
He said the ministry has "no information" about claims that Terasasi Hong Kong Ltd had sold Malaysian secret documents to Thint Asia, also known as Thales International, which is a subsidiary of DCNS, one the companies responsible for the sale of two Scorpene submarines to Malaysia."The ministry also does not have any information about claims that Terasasi received periodical payments from Thint Asia," he said in his five-minute speech in response to Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar.
Responding to queries by Nurul Izzah whether Malaysia would request to be an observer to the French tribunal on the Scorpene case to gain access to its investigation papers, Ahmad Zahid said this did not arise as there is no ongoing trial of the matter in France.
The French court - which adopts an inquisitive system - is currently at its investigation stage into alleged corruption by DCNS and has yet to proceed to trial.
'No need for royal commission'
He added there was no necessity for the setting up of a royal commission of inquiry to scrutinise the 1.341 billion euro (RM5.3 billion) submarine purchase as it adhered to the Defence Procurement Procedure and Manual.
"It involved various stages of approval including at the technical committee and price negotiation committee after detailed evaluation was made to ensure it suited the needs of the Malaysian Armed Forces," he said.
Further to this, the Attorney-General's Chambers had also approved the contracts related to the purchase and all its terms and conditions were presented to the Finance Ministry for approval, said Ahmad Zahid.
He added that a parliamentary standing committee for defence procurement is also not required, because such procurements are laid out in the country's budget, which is debated and passed by Parliament.
"Every expenditure is also subjected to the scrutiny and reprimand of Auditor-General's Office.
"The government also views that the process of procurement which involves strategic defence equipment, should not be discussed openly," he said.
Ahmad Zahid's comments tonight were the first official response given to Parliament close to a month after the alleged sales of Malaysian defence secrets was revealed by human rights group Suaram in Bangkok.
Terasasi is alleged to have received 36 million euro (RM142 million) from DCNS for among others, the ‘sale' of a highly confidential report comprising the Malaysian Navy's evaluation for the order of the submarines.
The French court - which adopts an inquisitive system - is currently at its investigation stage into alleged corruption by DCNS and has yet to proceed to trial.
'No need for royal commission'
He added there was no necessity for the setting up of a royal commission of inquiry to scrutinise the 1.341 billion euro (RM5.3 billion) submarine purchase as it adhered to the Defence Procurement Procedure and Manual.
"It involved various stages of approval including at the technical committee and price negotiation committee after detailed evaluation was made to ensure it suited the needs of the Malaysian Armed Forces," he said.
Further to this, the Attorney-General's Chambers had also approved the contracts related to the purchase and all its terms and conditions were presented to the Finance Ministry for approval, said Ahmad Zahid.He added that a parliamentary standing committee for defence procurement is also not required, because such procurements are laid out in the country's budget, which is debated and passed by Parliament.
"Every expenditure is also subjected to the scrutiny and reprimand of Auditor-General's Office.
"The government also views that the process of procurement which involves strategic defence equipment, should not be discussed openly," he said.
Ahmad Zahid's comments tonight were the first official response given to Parliament close to a month after the alleged sales of Malaysian defence secrets was revealed by human rights group Suaram in Bangkok.
Terasasi is alleged to have received 36 million euro (RM142 million) from DCNS for among others, the ‘sale' of a highly confidential report comprising the Malaysian Navy's evaluation for the order of the submarines.
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