Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he will meet with Defence Ministry secretary-general Abu Bakar Abdullah this afternoon to seek clarification on the helicopter deal which has run into controversy.

abdullah ahmad badawi najib razak pc change portfolio 170908 06 "I will meet with him today to discuss about this and then I will let you know," Abdullah, who is also defence minister, told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

The issue was first highlighted in a letter dated Oc 7 addressed to former defence minister Najib Abdul Razak, who is also deputy prime minister and finance minister.

In the five-page letter, Mentari Services Sdn Bhd chairperson Capt (rtd) Zahar Hashim suggested that the tender process, initiated during Najib's tenure, could have been a "gimmick" since the ministry appeared to favour one company.

najib tun razak 040808 Zahar also accused Najib (right) of providing the prime minister, who took over the defence portfolio on Sept 17, with an “inaccurate” report pertaining to the contract.

He said the government could have purchased the same number of helicopters from the firm he represents, and save almost RM1.5 billion.

In Parliament yesterday, Najib said he will give the Dewan Rakyat a detailed explanation soon on questions raised over the matter.

Corridor projects under review

Abdullah further said many of the government projects, including the multi-billion ringgit economic corridors, will be reviewed in view of the global economic slowdown.

“We have reached a decision to review all government projects meant for development and this includes several economic corridors,” said Abdullah.

The decision, however, does not indicate that the country will be badly affected by the global downturn, Abdullah said.

money ringgit malaysia wang duit currency “The ringgit is stable and our (monetary) reserves are still very strong and I believe the government is prepared for it,” he explained.

Last year, Abdullah had allocated billions of ringgit to the development of economic corridors under the 9th Malaysia Plan.

The launch of the Northern Corridor Economic Region, the East Coast Economic Region and the Sabah Development Corridor was said to be able to augment foreign investment and job creation.

Economic analysts, however, argued that the corridors will not generate any real income for the public as these are merely real estate development.

Many had suggested that the government should have invested in nurturing more productive sectors for the long term like small and medium enterprises.

‘Don’t rely on government alone’

On another matter, Abdullah said that the public should not depend entirely on the government to reduce the price of consumer goods, now that fuel price have been reduced.

petrol price hike reduced from rm 2 45 to rm 2 30 Last night, fuel prices were lowered by 6.1 percent or 15 sen to RM2.30 per litre. Since hiking prices by 41 percent in June, the government has cut fuel price, first in August and then last month.

This has not been accompanied by a reduction in the cost of consumer goods, but Abdullah said the government cannot be expected to deal alone with this.

“I heard that the consumer groups welcome the fuel price reduction but expressed regret that prices of goods have not been lowered. What is the use of these consumer groups then?

“They must also do their part in exerting pressure on traders to lower the prices of goods and not depend on the government alone.”

Although the government will follow up on the matter, he reiterated that the public should work alongside to ensure that prices are lowered.

“I will discuss this matter with (Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister) Shahrir Abdul Samad and see what we can do,” Abdullah said.

He advised traders to reduce prices voluntarily and not “wait until they are told to do so”.

Watch 5-min video of PM's press conference