KUALA LUMPUR: The leasing of helicopters for security agencies avoids the financial burden of maintenance costs, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said leasing also saw negotiations held only between governments without the need for agents.“Leasing avoids the financial burden of maintenance, which has been a big problem, costing billions of ringgit annually.
That is why I agreed to continue the leasing process, and we have also expanded it,” he said during Prime Minister Question Time.
He said the lease is not like a direct negotiation but instead a government-to-government approach with a Request for Proposal (RFP) process in place.
Through the leasing agreement, Anwar said the vehicles must have a readiness and operational level of at least 85%.
Anwar pointed out that countries like Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines also followed the leasing model due to the maintenance, repair and overhaul aspects.
He said that another condition Malaysia imposed was to initiate cooperation and training with institutions like Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and the Navy to ensure the country’s preparedness as a hub.
“For Malaysia, (the training) may be in Melaka. It (will be) near the Batu Berendam International Airport which we have agreed as a (designated) training institute,” he said to a question by Datuk Seri Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz (PN-Tanah Merah) who asked if the government’s decision to lease helicopters had undergone an open tender.
The Prime Minister said specifications requested by the respective Malaysian agencies on the helicopters must be fulfilled by the provider.
Recently, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin was reported saying the Armed Forces and other security agencies will be leasing 28 helicopters under a 15-year contract worth RM16.5bil.
