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Tuesday, 22 December 2009

RM 50m RMAF engine “disappears,” despite “fullproof” system

by Nathaniel Tan

I really wish I could find that clip on Youtube.

You ever watch the (eminently enjoyable) Hunt for Red October?

Remember one of the final scenes? Where the Secretary of Defense or something is settling matters with the Soviet ambassador?

Even though it doesn’t catch the fun acting, I’m eminently grateful to Drew, who transcribed:

Ambassador: There is another matter… one that I’m reluctant to…

Secretary: Please.

Ambassador: One of our submarines…an Alfa… was last reported in the area of the Grand Banks…. We have not heard from her for some time.

Secretary: Andrei. (look of disbelief) You’ve lost another submarine?

But of course, tragicomically, truth is stranger than fiction.

In beloved Malaysia, Porsches get stolen from police compounds, and fighter jet engines mysteriously disappear from RMAF bases.

Zahid:

“The investigations revealed RMAF’s logistics system was full-proof. However, the shady activity might have been carried out staff in the lower rungs in cahoots with outsiders,”

Aha!

First, credit to the Bernama reporter who wrote “full-proof,” and the editor that ‘caught’ it. (Perhaps the kind editors at MK should also go through the mistakes in that article again).

a) I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s how Zahid would’ve spelt it, given the chance
b) It’s probably more accurate, in that the BN government is truly incapable of being “fully” there. Or perhaps, no matter how much corruption it eats, it is never “full.”

Also: it appears that some staff were carried out along with the engine during the operation? :|

But grammar Nazi-ism aside, you really have to love Zahid’s reasoning: “RMAF = foolproof, which must obviously be why, low ranking staff and ‘outsiders’ managed to break into it.”

Sigh. Usually foolproof means even a fool can understand and use something. In this case, it probably means even a fool could have walked in and stolen a RM 50 million engine.

RM 50 million of our money. Gone. Just like that.

Does he expect us to believe that the only people who got rich off this affair were a few corporals and ’shady outsiders?’

I think that our mighty submarine, the KD Altantuya, clearly shows that no arms deal of that scale goes down in Malaysia without some fat honcho getting fatter over it.

Fullproof indeed :P

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