KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 — DAP lawmakers accused Putrajaya today of attempting to capitalise on the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disaster to justify a risky satellite project that they say could cost taxpayers RM1 billion.

Setampin lawmaker Julian Tan and Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim also claimed that the RazakSat-2, a Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO) satellite that Malaysia plans to launch in two years, has limited imaging capabilities that make it incapable of assisting in cases like the MH370 plane disappearance.

“Angkasa (National Space Agency) stated that RazakSat-2 has the capabilities to capture images as small as one metre… if this is true then RazakSat-2 cannot assist in locating debris as one square metre is only a dot.

“Even Google Earth has a better spatial resolution, which can detect objects as small as 0.65 metre or even smaller,” Sim told a press conference in Parliament here.

Malay daily Berita Harian recently quoted Angkasa director Dr Ahmad Noordin as saying that RazakSat-2 is scheduled for launching in 2016 and “is seen as capable in assisting the country capture images specifically for development planning but also for cases involving plane disappearances and disasters.”

“This is disappointing that they are using this to go shopping,” Sim alleged, of the project.

RazakSat-2 was first estimated to cost RM170 million but it has since ballooned to RM270 million. Tan claimed the project could skyrocket to as high as RM1 billion based on the current cost overrun pattern.

RazakSat-2 would be Malaysia’s third remote sensing satellite after RazakSat-1 and TiungSAT-1.

RazakSat-1, launched in 2009 at the cost of RM142 million, was shut down just a year into operations, drawing criticism and demand for a full inquiry into the programme by opposition lawmakers.

Sim noted today that Putrajaya has yet to respond on the matter and that no one has been held accountable for the project’s failure.

“And yet they are already announcing RazakSat-2,” he said.

Tan also claimed that the new satellite’s camera is unable to penetrate thick clouds that typically blanket the equator, making it difficult to locate objects in the area should another aviation disaster happen.

He further noted that RazakSat-2’s orbital position meant it can only capture images once in seven days, which would make rescue missions tougher.

“It is incapable of dealing with the crisis,” Tan said.

The revelation came hot at the heels of international criticism over Putrajaya’s management of the MH370 crisis, which highlighted poor coordination that detractors said caused precious time to be wasted.

The widebody plane carrying 239 people was originally meant to fly to Beijing when it left Kuala Lumpur on the morning of March 8 but according to satellite data and radar readings, MH370 veered westwards after it lost contact with ground control and is now believed to be in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Perth, Australia.