KUCHING: The RM35 million figure for the acquisition of the DA42M-NG Diamond aircraft for Sarawak Forestry Department’s usage is reasonable as it involves a long-term package of five years.
Sarawak’s Assistant Minister for Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment, Datuk Len Talif Salleh said the acquisition involves the price of the strategic aircraft itself, which includes the latest surveillance technological system, as well as mission equipment, purchasing guarantees, technical support and training.
"It should be noted that the cost of acquiring the asset does not come from the state government but from the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.
"The proposal to obtain the said technology was submitted by the Ministry and submitted to the relevant ministry.
"The acquisition of the asset was later approved by the Finance Ministry and the Cabinet in 2017," he said in a statement here.
He said this in response to Sarawak PKR deputy chairman See Chee How, who lodged a police report at the Simpang Tiga police station, here, claiming that the aircraft's purchase price was higher than the usual price, which should be within the RM3.5 to RM5 million range.
The two-seater plane, which can be operated by remote control without a pilot, was assembled by Austrian aerospace firm Diamond Aircraft Industries, which is based in Vienna.
With the purchase of the aircraft, it will be operated by the Ministry while the maintenance part will be handled by Hornbill Skyways.
Natural Resources and Environment Ministry will be the agency responsible for managing the surveillance aircraft because it possessed the expertise, especially involving employees from the System Application Development Unit (SADU).
"Under this project, the Ministry will share its expertise and services with other government agencies which require the usage of surveillance aircraft to be used at any location throughout the country," said Len Talif.
He added that the registration of the surveillance aircraft was in a test process by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) and, not under the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) as alleged.
"This project is not aimed at economic profit, but more towards research, management and the monitoring of forests and natural resources." he said.