Another scandal appears to be hovering over the Defence Ministry and this time it concerns the purchase of helicopters to replace the armed forces' aging and accident-prone fleet of Nuri aircraft.

The issue was highlighted in two letters last week - dated Oct 7 and 9 respectively - addressed to former defence minister Najib Abdul Razak, who is also deputy prime minister and finance minister.

In a five-page letter obtained by Malaysiakini , Mentari Services Sdn Bhd chairperson Capt (rtd) Zahar Hashim outlined several discrepancies and questioned the legitimacy of the deal to buy a dozen choppers from German-French firm Eurocopter.

Among others, he stated in another letter on Oct 9 - which bore corrections to the prices stated in the first letter - that the government could have purchased double the number of helicopters and still save almost RM1.5 billion.