SHAH ALAM, 5 Apr: The statement issued by the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) that said that the Scorpene submarine purchased by the Government can be used in search and rescue (SAR) operations is only an excuse to justify wastage and to cover-up the corruption scandal in relation to its purchase on 3 September 2009.
The Coordinator of Youth Solidarity Malaysia (SAMM), Badrul Hisham Shaharin, said that the statement was clearly reported in the Agence France-Presse (AFP) report on the same date, which said that “Navy officials said that the submarines will be stationed in Sabah, on the island of Borneo, where it will undergo through tuning before it can be used in search and rescue operations.”
“When this case came up, a few countries sent submarines for the SAR operation. I and other political leaders such as Lim Kit Siang, raised the question on why the submarines purchased at an unreasonably high price was not used.
“The Minister said that the Scorpene owned by our country is not suitable for SAR operations,” he said in a press statement.
Earlier, when the issue of the RM7 billion Scorpene issue came up, Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders used a variety of reasons to cover-up the scandal of the purchase of the submarines which are considered to be too expensive compared to submarines owned by other countries that have the same specifications.
The corruption scandal is also said to be linked to the murder of the Mongolian interpreter, Altantuya Shaariibuu, who was also the mistress of the Prime Minister’s close friend, Abdul Razak Baginda.
In the purchase, Abdul Razak Baginda also earned a commission of RM540 million through Perimekar Sdn Bhd.
