KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 1 ― The federal government needs to explain to the public why Malaysia needs to have two new naval warships with amphibious capabilities, when it could potentially cost taxpayers some RM3.5 billion, PKR’s Rafizi Ramli said today.

The opposition MP questioned how the French-made Mistral class vessel would fit in the country’s defence strategy.

“And if everything adds up including the maintenance, technical assistance, cost to fully equip the carrier as well as helicopter cost it will be around RM3.5 billion of the public’s fund,” the PKR vice-president said at a news conference.

“It is really odd that the Malaysian government is thinking of buying a non-customised naval warship which may not fit into our defence strategy altogether,” he added.

Rafizi said Putrajaya should explain the reasons behind their plan to buy the warships, including the overall procurement costs and technical assistance contracts.

He noted that the federal government can release “rough figures” without revealing confidential details related to the deal.

“They don’t have to disclose everything in minute details but at the very least they can disclose rough details,” he said.

The Pandan MP noted that the two vessels which Malaysia was purportedly eyeing, namely the Sevastopol and Vladivostok carriers, were initially built for the Russian government but France pulled out of the deal due to the former’s bad human rights record.

“These ships were meant to be handed over to the Russian government in 2014 and 2016 but was delayed when the French government cancelled the sales contract following the Russian government’s poor human rights record,” he said.

Earlier today, local newswire Bernama reported that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein met with French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and French defence industry representatives to discuss, among others, Malaysia’s possibly purchasing a Mistral class vessel.

Bernama also reported French daily La Tribune recently suggesting that Malaysia was also a possible contender for purchasing one of the Mistral aircraft carriers which had been ordered by Russia from STX France before being cancelled after the Ukrainian standoff in 2014.

According to the French newspaper La Tribune, Malaysia had been interested in buying an aircraft carrier similar to a Mistral for at least 10 years.