KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 — An old government jet believed used by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is set to be auctioned next Tuesday with a starting bid of RM80.5 million, based on an advertisement placed by the Defence Ministry’s Finance Department in Malay broadsheet Utusan Malaysia today.
The advertisement stated it was a “sale of a Malaysian government executive aircraft (Boeing Business Jet 737-700) which is to be disposed”.
PKR lawmaker Rafizi Ramli, who has previously exposed the government’s dubious aircraft dealings, claimed there is only one Boeing jet of that model owned by Putrajaya.
“Yes, it is the BBJ government jet. They only have one business model aircraft of that make that they wanted to replace because it was apparently old and caused maintenance problems,” the opposition MP for Pandan told Malay Mail Online today.
However, Rafizi said he was unsure if the starting price for the tender was according to the current value of the plane in the market.
“The plane is about 16 years old, 80 million should be around the price of the plane but I cannot say for certain is that the current market price or if they are selling it higher or lower,” he said.
When contacted, an officer from the Defence Ministry’s Finance Department refused to comment on the tender and instead asked that the question be forwarded to his superior, the ministry’s secretary-general Datuk Seri Abdul Rahim Mohamad Radzi.
“This matter, I cannot say anything. Sorry, but I cannot comment on this. You probably can ask the KSU to comment,” said the officer who asked not to be named, using the Malay initials to refer to the ministry secretary-general.
Malay Mail Online has attempted to contact Abdul Rahim and his special officer but has yet to receive a response.
Earlier this year, Rafizi claimed the Barisan Nasional federal government had confirmed a hire-purchase deal for a new jet, an Airbus ACJ320, from Jet Premier One (M) Sdn Bhd.
The old Boeing aircraft was rumoured to be replaced as it was very old, with government sources reportedly claiming it was over 20 years old and was very costly to maintain.
Rafizi who is also PKR secretary-general had claimed in March that the Boeing jet cost RM28.8 million in hire-purchase payments annually and also RM 5.5 million a year for maintenance fees.
The tender notice which was advertised today stated that the auction will start at 10.30am next Tuesday at the Royal Military Air Force (RMAF) base in Subang.
The tender is to close on September 2, roughly a fortnight after the sale opens.
