The Malaysian Insight

GRAFT-BUSTERS are investigating 16 Defence Ministry land-swap deals that took place over the last 25 years and the non-delivery of six helicopters worth RM300 million.

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Latheefa Koya said the land deals were “complex”, involving mutiple defence ministers and civil servants.

She said the probe will take a while given the number of cases and the difficulties that MACC will likely encounter when gathering evidence.

“It is not as simple as just handing us an audit report.

“We are in the middle of investigating, and I believe not every case will be a full-blown investigation. You need to give us time,” she told reporters after giving an address at a conference on financial crime in Kuala Lumpur today.

Latheefa said MACC has started a probe into the helicopter purchases, but declined to reveal details as the investigation is ongoing.

“We will definitely inform you once we have completed (the probe).”

Since June, the anti-graft agency has interviewed former defence ministers Hishammuddin Hussein and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi over the land swaps.

In February, the ministry revealed that the government had lost more than RM500 million in such deals since 1997.

On May 17, the ministry handed over 14 reports on the land swaps to MACC, after having submitted two reports earlier.

The reports contain the findings of the Governance, Procurement and Finance Investigating Committee’s probe into the 16 deals, involving 1,183ha of land belonging to the ministry.

In addition to the land’s value, the cost of the projects involving the plots is estimated at RM4.88 billion.

On Sunday, Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu said the helicopters were supposed to have been delivered in two phases – two in July 2017 and the remaining four by December last year.

He said the previous government had paid RM112 million for the aircraft, or 35% of the total price.

“It is not that we do not want to take delivery of the helicopters, but the issue is, they have not arrived till today.”

The ministry will get the attorney-general’s advice before making any move in relation to the helicopters, he said. – November 5, 2019.