Under fire, Sarawak government says RM35m not just for plane purchase

© Provided by Malay Mail Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment assistant minister Datuk Len Talif Salleh speaks to reporters in Kuching October 31, 2017. — Picture by Sulok Tawie

KUCHING, June 10 — The Sarawak government today clarified that the RM35 million spent by the federal ministry of natural resources and environment is not just for the cost of an Austrian-made four-seater Diamond aircraft alone, as alleged by a PKR assemblyman.

“It is the total cost for overall project which consists of aircraft, mission equipment, spare parts, warranty, technical support, training and implementation for a period of five years,” Assistant Minister of Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Datuk Len Talif Salleh said.

He said the proposal to buy the aircraft was submitted by the state Forest Department to the federal Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment under 11th Malaysia Plan.

“The process of procurement was approved by Ministry of Finance (MoF) and federal Cabinet in 2017,” he said in clarifying a police report lodged by PKR’s Batu Lintang state assemblyman See Chee How yesterday.

See had said claimed that the price for the Austrian-made fixed-wing DA42M-NG Diamond could not be worth RM35 million as claimed by former federal Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar in October last year.

But he had said, based on his research, the price of the plane was between RM3.5 million and RM5 million, inclusive the costs of all the accessories.

See, who is also state PKR vice chairman, urged the police to conduct an investigation into the purchase of the aircraft, which he claimed, was bought at exorbitant price.

In response to See’s claims, Len explained that due to the vast and undulating landscape as well as difficult accessibility, the Forest Department has no choice but to leverage on the latest technology to manage and monitor Sarawak’s forest resources.

He said this involves the use of advance sensing technology such as satellite imaging and reconnaissance, airborne hyperspectral sensing, radar and drone.

“This technology has been declassified for civilian use for the past decades and is not limited to the use of military and aviation,” he said.

He added that the Forest Department will be the implementing agency of the project as they have the expertise and skill to operate the system.

“Under this project, the department will share its expertise and service with other government agencies that require such knowledge throughout the country,” he said, adding that this project is not intended for any economic gain but mainly for research, management and monitoring of forest and natural resources.

Len also clarified that the registration of the aircraft is currently being vetted by Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), and not the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) as previously reported.

Len assured that the state government will be transparent and give its full cooperation to the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in their investigation into the purchase of the aircraft.