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Only 4 Fighter Jets Can Fly – A Result Of Incompetency & Corruption By These 4 UMNO Leaders



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Aug 03 2018
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Ex-PM Najib Razak called newly crowned Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu “cartoon”. In retaliation, Mr. Sabu called Mr. Najib “stupid”. The war of words escalates as both individuals excitedly campaign during by-election rally in the Selangor state seat of Sungai Kandis. Ironically, Najib was former defence minister for 14 years (1990-1995 and 1999-2008).

 

Najib, while on the campaign trail, had labelled Mohamad Sabu – popularly known as Mat Sabu – as “cartoon” and a “joker” who is only good to be a cook, claiming he was unqualified to hold the powerful and important portfolio as the defence minister. Armed with his 14 years experience as defence minister, Mr. Najib appeared enjoying himself insulting the inexperienced Mat Sabu.

 

Najib told his supporters – “Our defence minister is a cartoon. He wears the beret like a cartoon. He gets into the warship and talks about fish curry. You are the defence minister. Talk about the country’s defence policies, not about fish curry. This is not defence minister material. This is a joker. I cannot guarantee if he will be talking about fish when facing defence secretary of the U.S.”

Ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak - World Biggest Crook

Mat Sabu saw his fortune skyrockets after Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad entrusted him to the defence ministry after the Pakatan Harapan coalition unexpectedly boot the 61-year Barisan Nasional coalition in the May 9 general election. Mr. Sabu, the president of Amanah, one of four component parties making Pakatan Harapan, obviously has bet on the right horse.

 

However, while Mat Sabu is an inexperienced minister, he is a seasoned politician known for his oratory skills and ability to attract large crowds to “ceramahs (campaigns)”. He is incredibly popular with grassroots largely due to his low profile and humbleness. So, on Thursday (Aug 2), while campaigning for PKR candidate, he took his trademark humourous tack to a new level.

 

Mat Sabu told the audience sarcastically – “I met with the U.S. Defence Secretary. I discussed with him on how to cook sambal belacan.” He went on to say that he had taught Australia’s defence minister how to make asam pedas last month. He also admitted to discussing fish head curry with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop this week in Parliament.

Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu

“Woi, Najib!! Why are you so stupid?” – Mat Sabu exclaimed to laughter from the crowd, who came to hear what their favourite down-to-earth leader has to say. “Whether I only know how to cook or whether I’m not good at governing, what’s important is I will never steal peoples’ money,” – he added, to roaring cheers from the floor.

 

Mat Sabu was, of course, referring to the billions of dollars stolen by the disgraced Najib Razak which led to the collapse of Barisan Nasional after ruling for 61 years since independence in 1957. It’s a miracle that the thick-skinned Najib dares to lead the campaign trail after over RM1 billion worth of jewellery and cash were seized from his family members’ luxury condominiums.

 

But being called a cartoon for his lack of experience in running the defence ministry wasn’t the only challenge Mat Sabu faced. He was criticised by Brigadier-General (Retired) Mohamed Arshad Raji, president of the National Patriots Association, for improperly revealing that only 4 of the 28 Malaysian-owned Russian fighter jets could take to the air.

Malaysia RMAF Sukhoi Su-30MKM

Mr. Arshad said – “We don’t have to say that only four of our Sukhois can fly. These are vital military assets. It is important that the public feels confident and reassured that our skies can be protected. Nations around the world maintain a certain level of preparedness, even in times of peace, to counter external threats, so we wouldn’t want others to know our level of preparedness.”

 

Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu recently revealed in Parliament that while the RMAF (Royal Malaysia Air Force) had 18 Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30MKM and 10 MiG-29 jetfighters, only four Super Flankers were operational. He explained that the remaining 14 are under repair and said the RMAF was unable to properly maintain the fighter jets’ airworthiness.

 

The ten MiG-29 multi-role jets entered service in 1995, while six Sukhoi Su-30MKM Air-Superiority Fighter were delivered in 2007 and the remainder in 2009. The defence minister said his Defence Ministry had terminated the contractor engaged by the former administration and was looking at replacing them with local contractors.

GE J85-17A Turbojet Engine Similar To RMAF’s F-5 Missing Engine

While Mr. Arshad’s concern about national security is commendable, it’s actually an open secret that Malaysia’s Air Force is a joke. In fact, the entire Malaysian Armed Forces are quite embarrassing. Under Defence Minister Najib Razak, two missing RM100 million F5 fighter engines were revealed, after the engines were taken out of the RMAF base on Dec 20, 2007 and Jan 1, 2008.

 

The military only realised that the engines were missing on May 22 of that year, leading to jokes that most likely the engines might have ended up as scrap metal. Perhaps this is why Najib dares not insult Mat Sabu over the revelation that only 4 fighter jets could fly. The theft of the two jet engines happened under his watch as defence minister.

 

Under Najib leadership as the country’s defence minister, the world was also entertained with unbelievable revelation that Malaysia had bought European-made Scorpene submarines which refuse to dive. The two submarines, bought in 2002, also saw how Mr. Najib and his close associate Razak Baginda pocketed RM540 million in commissions for brokering the deal.

Altantuya-Shaariibuu Murder - Najib Razak and Razak Baginda Inset

Of course, such corruption scandal would be a dull and boring drama without woman and sex. Enter Altantuya, the Mongolian beauty who allegedly had sexual intercourse with both Najib and Baginda. When she demanded her commission in the submarine deal, she was shot instead and her body was exploded with C4 military-grade explosives in 2006 at a forest in Shah Alam, Selangor.

 

The RMAF capability and readiness, currently reduced to only 4 fighter jets, is absolutely humiliating. After spending billions of dollars on defence, Malaysia is like a sitting duck, vulnerable to foreign invasion. Besides failure to take into consideration TCO (total cost of ownership), the cost of procurement also ballooned due to leakages or corruption.

 

Air Force chief Affendi Buang said since 2007, the annual operational budget allocated was never sufficient to effectively manage and maintain its assets – “This has been verified by the National Audit Department, based on its 2017 audit. The lack of funds directly impacted the maintenance and serviceability rate of our Su-30MKMs.”

So, who were the defence ministers since 2007? They were Najib Razak (1999-2008), Abdullah Badawi (2008-2009), Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (2009-2013) and Hishammuddin Hussein (2013-2018). Therefore, it was actually a necessary move by Mat Sabu to reveal the real fighter jets readiness in Parliament. This is just like the revelation about RM1 trillion debts.

 

If Mat Sabu keeps this a secret, in the name of national security, the government of Pakatan Harapan will be blamed for the pathetic conditions of RMAF several years down the road. Get real, do you think foreign forces such as Singapore does not know Malaysian Air Force capability? Had RMAF ever scrambled its jet to warn Singapore Air Force’s intrusion over Malaysia airspace?

 

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Comments

The MH370 episode was also a joke as for as the RMAF is concerned.

At the height of the frantic search for the direction of the ill-fated MH370 heading to, the Head of the Air Force boasted that the RMAF radar actually detected the ill-fated aircraft flying across the Malaysian air space toward the Andaman Sea.

Realising his foolishness later, he denied saying the radar ever detected the aircraft.

No action was taken against him…as far as I know.

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