Speech (3)
by Lim Kit Siang on the 2009 Budget in Parliament on
Tuesday, 14th October 2008:
RM2.3 billion Eurocopter deal – why no
proper short-listing and a bidder which is higher by RM1.256 billion
chosen
The first thing Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi did as Defence Minister was to announce on 26th September that
the Defence Ministry has agreed to acquire new helicopters from European
helicopter manufacturer, the Eurocopter, to replace the Nuri.
This RM2 billion deal lacks accountability and integrity.
Four helicopters had been “short-listed” by the Ministry of Defence to
replace the fleet of Sikorsky S61-A4 Sea Kings better known as the Nuri.
The four are the Eurocopter Cougar EC725, Sikorsky S92, Agusta Westland
EH-101 Merlin and the Russian-made Mil Mi-17 Hip.
However, Abdullah shocked everyone with his announcement as the
“short-listing” had not been completed and the pricing of the EC725 is
not competitive compared with the other helicopters.
The pricing offered by the “short-listed” helicopters are:
Eurocopter Cougar EC 725 - Euro 463.44 juta (RM2.317 billion);
Sikorsky
- US$427.20 juta (RM1.45 billion)
Canadian Kelowna Flightcraft Ltd. Model Kazan MI-172 buatan Russia
- US$312 juta (RM1.061 billion)
This means that there is a difference of
RM1.256 billion between Eurocopter Cougar EC 725 with the lowest bidder,
the Kazan MI-172 KF – in other words, with US$600 million the Royal
Malaysian Air Force can buy 26 units of Kazan helicopters and not just
12 Cougar helicopters.
In his speech yesterday, the Opposition
Leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim referred to the complaint by the
Chairman of Mentari Services Sdn. Bhd. Kapt (B) Dato’ Zahar Hashim about
the irregularity of the Eurocopter decision, and this is not just
confined to the Kelowna Flightcraft Limited, Canada which submitted the
bid for the Russian helicopter but also the other “short-listed” bidders
as well, viz:
• Proses penilaian belum selesai tetapi
dengan secara tiba-tiba arahan diberi oleh pihak tertentu supaya
Letter of Intent (LOI) dikeluarkan kepada Eurocopter. LOI tersebut
ditandatangan oleh seorang pegawai paras menengah di Kementerian
Pertahanan dan bertarikh 15th September 2008 iaitu dua hari sebelum
Datuk Seri Najib Razak berpindah dari Kementerian Pertahanan ke
Kementerian Kewangan.
• Kerja yang sudah selesai adalah penelitian dokumen-dokumen tender
yang dikemukakan oleh penender-penender. Penilaian fizikal iaitu
memeriksa permis dan kilang penender-penender dan melakukan
penerbangan ujian (test flights) belum dilakukan oleh kerana
kebenaran dari pihak atasan di Kementerian Pertahanan dan
Kementerian Kewangan untuk berbuat demikian belum diperolehi.
Sewajarnya, penilaian fizikal adalah lebih mustahak dari penilaian
dokumen-dokumen (documentary evaluation) dan anggota-anggota yang
terlibat berasa hairan apabila mengetahui bahawa LOI telah
dikeluarkan sebelum penilaian fizikal dilakukan.
• Proses pengeluaran LOI kepada Eurocopter agak luar biasa dan
bertentangan dengan prosedur yang telah diamalkan selama ini.
Biasanya LOI dikeluarkan setelah proses penilaian secara menyeluruh
selesai dan sebuah jawatankuasa yang dianggotai oleh wakil-wakil
dari Kementerian Kewangan dan Kementerian Pertahanan capai kata
sepakat tentang produk yang terbaik bersesuaian dengan belanjawan
yang telah diperuntukkan. Mereka turut berpendapat bahawa adalah
menakjubkan bahawa LOI bagi kontrak yang bernilai melebihi Dua
Bilion Ringgit ditandatangan oleh seorang pegawai Kerajaan bertaraf
Setiausaha Bahagian dan bukan seorang yang bertaraf
sekurang-kurangnya Timbalan Ketua Setiausaha.
The following are therefore the issues and
questions:-
• Technical evaluation process did not follow
standard international practice and was not transparent.
• Short-listing of the aircraft not as
normally practiced in such tender process.
• What is the criteria for evaluating these
aircraft. Is it following standard evaluation process in technical
terms. Has it carried out any flight evaluation of all the aircraft.
There have been cases where manufacturers
have not been able to prove what they have written in paper when flight
test was carried out. There has also been instances where the
manufacturers had used a different and higher performance aircraft than
was specified in the written technical paper during flight test. This is
why it is VERY important that a flight test valuation is carried out to
ensure they comply with the specs given in the written documents.
I understand that the EC725 selected is a 40-year old aircraft,
certified in the 60s and 70s. It has been modified and upgraded all
these while and given a new name and term. Can this EC 725 be guaranteed
to last another 40 more years with all the modifications and upgrading
anticipated?
If RMAF is buying this 40-yr old aircraft,
then it might as well keep the Nuris, modify and upgrade them now. It
will cost only a fraction of a new aircraft, especially taking into
account the Sikorsky offer had reported by Berita Minggu of 1st June
2008, viz:
Syarikat pengeluar helikopter terkemuka
dunia, Sikorsky Aircroft Corporation (Sikorsky) membuat tawaran
kepada Kementerian Pertahanan untuk membeli kembali 29 helikopter
Nuri atau Sikorsky S-61-A4 Sea Kings, jika Malaysia membuat
keputusan membeli helicopter barunya, Superhawks S-92 untuk kegunaan
Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM).
Eksekutif Jualan Serantau Sikorsky bagi Asia, Scott Pierce, berkata
tawaran itu dibuat melalui bida dikemukakan syarikatnya kepada
kementerian berkenaan, selepas Malaysia mengumumkan tawaran tender
terbuka antarabangsa berhubung pembelian helicopter baru bagi
pasukan itu.
Katanya, jika Malaysia memutuskan terus menggunakan Nuri bersama
helicopter terbarunya, Sikorsky yang juga anak syarikat United
Technologies Corporation (UTC), menyatakan komitmen membaik pulih
atau meningkatkan khidmat Nuri di Negara ini.
“Sikorsky sedia membeli semua baki Nuri daripada TUDM untuk dijual
kepada mana-mana pihak yang berminat, tetapi juga TUDM masih mahu
menggunakan Nuri bersama helicopter S-92, kita sanggup membaik pulih
dan meningkatkan helicopter berusia lebih 40 tahun itu, termasuk
menukar daripada kokpit konvensional kepada kokpit kaca (digital).
“Tugas balik pulih Nuri akan membabitkan pemindahan teknologi
terkini dan kepakaran kepada orang tempatan”, katanya kepada Berita
Minggu pada temu bual di sini, baru-baru ini.
I am not a spokesman for Sikorsky, but this
offer warrants an explanation from the Ministry of Defence as to the
critera for the final selection of Eurocopter among the four
“short-listed” bids.
The government had allocated US$600 million (RM1.93 billion) to buy an
initial fleet of 12 helicopters, which will be in service until 2050.
Last year, the government cancelled a defence
deal with the European aerospace giant EADS (European Aeronautic Defence
and Space Company) for 197 helicopters to the country’s army following
adverse observations by Indian watchdog authorities over alleged
irregularities in the defence bidding process.
According to published reports, Eurocopter
allegedly used a local firm, Global Vectra Helicorp, to help broker the
deal despite a ban in India on the use of middlemen in defence deal.
Eurocopter was also accused of presenting a
civilian helicopter instead of a military version for statutory field
trials by the Indian army.
But what should attract the attention and
concern of Parliament is that the EADS deal to sell 197 Eucopters to the
Indian government was a US$600 million which the Indian government
subsequently cancelled.
Parliament and the nation are entitled to
know why for the same amount of US$600 million, the Indian government
was offered 197 Eurocopters as compared to 12 Eurocopters to Malaysia.
In the name of accountability, transparency,
integrity and good governance, I call for the immediate suspension of
the RMAF helicopter award to subject it to a proper and above-board
procurement process.
*
Lim
Kit Siang, DAP
Parliamentary leader & MP for Ipoh Timor
http://dapmalaysia.org