DAP’s Raub MP Mohd Ariff Sabri Abd Aziz has demanded answers why Malaysia has not sent its two Scorpene submarines to assist in the search and recovery operation for the missing Malaysian Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370.
Mohd Ariff (right) - who blogs under the handle ‘Sakmongkol 47' - raised questions as to what the country has to show for its expenditure on defence, which has gone up from RM13.8 million in 2011 to RM16.1 billion in 2014.
“How is our defence spending structured? Is it structured to enrich a few Umno cronies or is it structured to strengthen our defences?”
He noted that, when the MAS aircraft was reported missing over the South China Sea in the early hours of March 8, the government had not deployed its “celebrated” submarines to the area because the military said the area was too shallow.
“In any case, our submarines are designed to search and destroy. We responded by saying we only wanted the search part - no need to destroy,” Mohd Ariff wrote.
“We did not send our submarine rescue ship (SRS) either - the one built by a company known as Target Resources Sdn Bhd. We are paying RM6 million a month to Target Resources to be on standby. How come we did not send the SRS? Singapore did.”
He suggested that the vessel may not have the equipment for full underwater search capabilities, including a remote-operated vehicle.
In a related development, a spokesperson from Target Resources Sdn Bhd declined to comment on its company's involvement saying such questions should be directed to its managing director.
However, it is understood that the company sent a vessel to assist in the search of MH370 for several days to the South China Sea, but it cannot participate in the search and recovery in the southern Indian Ocean as it is too deep.
The Scorpene submarines - KD Tunku Abdul Rahman and KD Tun Abdul Razak - were commissioned in 2009 and are said to be equipped with TSM 2233 Mk 2 sonar capability.
On the non-use of the Scorpene submarine, it was reported that Royal Malaysian Navy admiral Abdul Aziz Jaafar said it did not have search and rescue capabilities.
Meanwhile it was reported today that Britain has sent its Trafalgar class nuclear-powered HMS Tireless to participate in the search at the Indian Ocean.
What does ‘ended’ mean?
Mohd Ariff, the former Pekan Umno information chief, also questioned Premier Najib Abdul Razak’s conclusion that the aircraft has ended in the Indian Ocean.
Does ‘ended’ mean that it crashed into the Indian Ocean or that it stayed suspended in the netherworld as suggested by the bomoh? he posed.
“Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein says the PM did not say the plane had crashed in the Indian Ocean.
“Even now, Hishammuddin is still muddling (along). Yet there are people who say Hisham has done well.
"Done well by which standards? By the standards of school dropouts?”
Mohd Ariff then listed the nation’s military assets but asked how many of these are still operational.
He claimed that the Air Force has 224 aircraft and 84 helicopters; the army has 74 tanks, 20 towed artillery pieces and 1,318 armoured fighting vehicles; and the Navy has 61 vessels comprising four frigates, four corvettes, two submarines, 39 coastal craft, and four mining vessels.
