A DAP parliamentarian has called on the government to conduct an external investigation on the disappearance of the RM50 million F-5E fighter engine.
Bukit Bendera MP Liew Chin Tong said given that the Defence Ministry had promised not to “leave no stone unturned”, it was only ideal and appropriate to form either a parliamentary select committee or a royal commission to investigate the theft.
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“An internal inquiry is grossly inadequate on the disappearance of a RM 50 million F-5E fighter engine,” he said in a statement today.
He said internal inquiries have notoriously ensured that the chain of responsibility does not extend beyond low-ranking scapegoats.
He substantiated his claim by referring to Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi statement that “investigations revealed Royal Malaysian Air Force’s logistics system was foolproof. However, the shady activity might have been carried out by staff in the lower rungs in cahoots with outsiders."
Liew pointed out that the F-5E fighter jet engine worth about RM50 million went missing from the Matra 1 warehouse at the Sungai Besi airbase in 2007.
He said the service and maintenance record of the engine was also reported missing, and was believed had been sold to another party in Europe.
He said an external inquiry was crucial not to determine details of the shocking incident but also to uncover the conditions in the armed forces that allowed it to happen.
“An external inquiry would reveal where accountability for such an incident should fall.
“Only then appropriate action can be taken against those responsible,” he said.
The DAP political strategist said the implications of the case struck the heart of the nation’s security.
He said an external probe would also dig deep to unearth whether any other military assets had also been stolen.
“The missing fighter jet engine could just be the tip of the iceberg,” he raised suspicion.
He said the external inquiry shall also determine whether the fighter jet engine and other military assets have been transferred to undesirable parties including Iran.
“If this happens, it potentially poses dangerous global consequences,” said Liew.
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said the disappearance of F-5E fighter jet engine shows that the country's defence system was not strong.
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He said if such an incident happened in a western country, it would have seen the resignation of its defence minister.
Earlier today Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, formerly a defence minister, said the government had no intention to cover up the case.
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On Saturday, Ahmad Zahid said the engine, worth RM50 million and discovered missing in 2007, had been sold to an international company based in South America.
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