Stop Kidding Us! Facts Please, Not Incongruent Statements

ARCHIVES 2010

By admin-s On Jan 7, 2010

If there is anything I cannot tolerate in life apart from injustice, corruption and discrimination, it is INCONGRUENT STATEMENTS.

By Masterwordsmith

At 7.16pm this evening, Tim Leonard of theSun reported:

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zaid Hamidi today clarified that the missing F-5E jet engines were not worth RM50 million each as claimed by various quarters. He said the government bought each unit of Tiger F-5E aircraft for between US$2.5 million and US$8.2 million each, depending on the weapons and features.

“Claims that the engines cost RM50 million each are absolutely untrue,” he said after witnessing an agreement signing between Bank Simpanan Nasional and National Service Training Department at the Defence Ministry in Jalan Padang Tembak yesterday.

“I hope the bloggers out there who are demonising me get their facts right,” he said.

He said he has submitted a comprehensive report together with a chronology of events leading to the disappearance of the engines to the cabinet.

“The Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Najib) is satisfied with the report.”

Ahmad Zaid urged the public to stop speculating if there were ‘bigger fishes’ behind the incident, saying there were no senior officers involved.

“Even if there were others involved, it might include army personnel ranking below the sergeant.”

Ahmad Zaid also said there was no need to set up a Royal Commission to investigate the theft.

“The court proceedings will shed light into what happened,” he said.

This is a complete outrage!!! Bloggers like me wrote about the issue based on the facts as trawled from main stream media which got their facts from RMAF and the Defence Minister himself. Who is the one who does not have the RIGHT FACTS????

Let’s review the facts as reported by main stream media.

1. Dec. 19th Malaysian Insider reported HERE:

The Royal Malaysia Air Force (RMAF) F-5E fighter jet engine missing since 2007 was sold to an international company based in South America, said Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

He said the company was believed to have hired an agent to bring the RM50 million engine out of the country.

“The ministry will take legal action at the international level to charge the company involved.

2. Dec. 21st Malaysian Insider reported AT THIS LINK:

Armed Forces chief Gen Tan Sri Azizan Ariffin said although the jet was discovered missing in 2007, the case could not be made public as several actions, as well as internal investigations which also involved the police, had to be conducted.

“We have reported the loss of the jet engine last year, as usual, the investigation takes a long time,” he added.

The engine, worth RM50 million, is reported to have been sold overseas.

3. On Dec 22nd, Malaysian Insider reported HERE :

Zahid also clarified that the missing engines were actually a pair of engines.

“It was really two engines. If it is brand new, then it is RM50 million but you have to consider the depreciation of value so the market value is much lower,” he said.

He also confirmed that the engines had been sold to an international company based in South America.

“It was sent to South America but the buyer has an office in Malaysia and branches in neighbouring countries. I believe the company has an international network,” he said.

4. On Dec 23rd, Malaysian Insider reported:

Armed Forces chief Gen Azizan Ariffin said that those responsible for stealing should be charged with treason. “It is a serious offence that tarnishes the image of the Armed Forces,” Azizan told reporters. “There should not be any compromise on the punishment for their actions.”

To recapitulate, the thefts were discovered in May 2008 when Azizan, then the air force chief, ordered an audit of the force’s assets. It was then ascertained that the two engines — collectively worth RM100 million — were missing. A police report was subsequently lodged in August last year.

5. On Dec 26th, Malaysian Insider reported:

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had earlier said that the engines, worth RM50 million each, were believed to have been sent to a South American country.

6. On Jan 2nd, Malaysian Insider at THIS LINK reported:

Zahid said investigation papers on the jet engines theft have already been submitted to the A-G, making it legally impossible for him to comment on the case which has placed the country’s security policy under severe domestic and international scrutiny.

“Right now the probe is entirely in the hands of the police and they have submitted their investigation papers to the A-G for further legal action.

“So only he (Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail) has the authority to comment on the matter now,” Zahid told reporters after launching this term’s national service here.

The two General Electric J85-21A turbojet engines, said to be worth RM100 million, were found missing after an audit in 2007. A police report was only lodged in early 2008 but the matter came to light last month.

Why is it that on January 2nd, the Defence Minister said that only the AG has the authority to comment on the matter but he is saying a different thing today?

And all the above gave CONSISTENT references to Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Zahid Hamidi’s statement that the engines were worth RM50 million each in the days following the disclosure in December.

However, in the past few days and especially TODAY, it seems that he is singing a different tune and blaming BLOGGERS for not getting their facts right.