Since Najib is already back in Malaysia to deal with the recent floods, it is unclear who is using the aircraft or for what purpose.
According to the flight tracking website Flightradar24, the Airbus 319 jet left its base in Subang on Dec 20 and flew to Honolulu, Hawaii after a brief stop in Osaka, Japan.
There,
Najib had played golf with US President Barack Obama, but had to cut
his holiday short amid criticism for his absence as the flood situation
worsened.He later revealed to the media that while his family was sad to see him leave, he had told them that the suffering of flood victims was greater.
He later revealed to the media that while his family was sad to see him leave, he had told them that the suffering of flood victims was greater.
He also defended the tee-off with Obama, saying that it is ‘golf diplomacy’ and was also practiced by his predecessors, including his father and former prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein.
The floods are reportedly the worst in recent decades, especially in the East Coast, with 21 dead and over 200,000 displaced at its peak.
Najib had reached Kota Bharu on the afternoon of Dec 27 using a different aircraft. He is believed to have been picked up from Hong Kong by another Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) VIP jet.
From Honolulu to Hong Kong?
It is unclear how Najib reached Hong Kong from Honolulu, but Flightradar24’s records show that the Boeing 737 business jet (BBJ) arrived in Kota Bharu from there at the same time Najib was reported to have arrived.
At that time, the government jet that took Najib to Honolulu was already in Indianapolis, US, having arrived there on Dec 26 after a brief stop at Los Angeles.
It remained in Indianapolis for six days until Dec 31, where it took off for Los Angeles, then New York, London, Dubai and finally Bangkok – all with brief stops at each airport for no more than several hours until it reached Bangkok.
It touched-down at Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport at 2.11pm today after a journey of some 41,900 kilometres, and is still there as of the time of writing.
Indianapolis is also the base for the aircraft cabin design, maintenance, and refurbishing arm of the aviation company Comlux Aviation, which specialises in chartering and refurbishing VIP aircraft.
Comlux has previously done refurbishing work on 9M-NAA, and has a six-year contract from 2013 to perform maintenance work on the aircraft. However, it is not clear if this is the reason for its stop in Indianapolis.
Malaysiakini has contacted the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and Comlux about the aircraft earlier today, but has yet to receive a response.
Aircrafts for VVIP use, not just PM
The aircraft is among a few VIP jets registered to the Royal Malaysian Air Force.
In a statement last year, the PMO had said that there are four VIP jets: A Bombardier Global Express, a Dassault Falcon 900, and the aforementioned Boeing and Airbus jets.
A fifth aircraft, a Fokker F28-1000, has been decommissioned in Aug 2012, it added.
It added that the aircrafts were not exclusively for Najib’s use, but are also for the Agong, sultans, yang di-pertuas negeri, ministers, deputy ministers, foreign guests to the federal government, senior government officials and VIPs.
It said this helps these individuals move about safely and aids their busy schedule.
Meanwhile, Semambu assemblyperson Lee Chean Chung (left) appealed to members of the public to come forward if they had sighted any VIPs at the cities that 9M-NAA stopped over.He also urged the prime minister to explain the purpose of the trip.
“The aircraft was flying back and forth between Los Angeles and New York. Is this for a holiday or to strengthen relations between Malaysia and the US? Since the aircraft was originally carrying Najib to Hawaii to celebrate Christmas with Obama, Najib must clarify what transpired,” he said in a statement today.
He added that it would be an abuse of public resources if Najib had allowed his relatives or close confidants to use the aircraft for personal purposes.
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