‘Missing’ VIP jet: Zam demands quick answers

Mahathir ally says PM's Department must explain whether malicious "shopping trip" stories are true.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Prime Minister’s Department has been urged to make a speedy response to the malicious talk being spread about the government VIP jet aircraft Perdana One which took Najib Razak to Hawaii but “went missing” after that.

Former Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin (“Zam”) joined the chorus of Mahathir Mohamad allies attacking Najib by asking in his blog today about talk that the Airbus A319 executive jet had journeyed on to places known as “shopping heavens”. He asked: “Is this true?”

In Hawaii, Najib was photographed playing golf with US President Barack Obama, who was on holiday in his home state. In the face of public criticism about his trip while severe floods inundated eights states, Najib cut short his trip and returned by a commercial airline via Hong Kong from where an Air Force plane took him to Kota Bharu.

Zam said there could be justification for Najib’s use of the executive jet if the trip was important to the country but added that the public also had a right to know where the plane had gone, “after disappearing from sight” for so long.

He also wanted to know, “Has the plane returned to Malaysia?”

International flight tracking services show that the plane is now in Bangkok, where it arrived Friday morning.

After Najib left Hawaii, the Airbus executive jet was flown to Los Angeles and on to Indianapolis where it spent a few days. It then returned via Los Angeles, New York, London and Dubai, making brief stops of under two hours at each city.

For its return journey from Indianapolis, the plane used the civilian callsign “M9NAA” up to London, and then the callsign “NR1″ from London to Bangkok.

The executive jet carries the Malaysian civilian registration number 9M-NAA, and is owned by Penerbangan Malaysia Bhd, the government-owned civilian aircraft leasing company which also owns airliners leased to MAS. The A319CJ is operated by the Air Force as part of the VIP Flight and uses the callsign “Perdana One” when it is in use by the prime minister or “DiRaja One” when used by the Yang diPertuan Agong.