KUALA LUMPUR - Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today said the ministry does not have a hand in the vastly differing costs of Rapid Intervention Vehicles (RIV) supplied to the Special Forces Regiment.
He said the ministry is investigating the price differences brought to its attention by Sultan Ibrahim Ismail of Johor on Sept 8 and will take action accordingly.
"I have gathered some information from the preliminary investigation conducted. If it was found that the Sultan's claim is true, legal action will be taken against the supplier concerned.
"The ministry did not compromise and was not involved in any of this. We did not compromise with anyone," Ahmad Zahid said repeatedly when asked about it during a press conference at Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM), here today.
Sultan Ibrahim, who is also the Special Forces regiment colonel commandant, had questioned the government's purchase of four RIVs for RM2.76 million, or RM690,000 each, while he had purchased one for RM150,000.
"Don't provide supplies which are of low quality but quote prices many times over (the actual prices)," he reportedly said.
The royalty had also lamented over the quality of military equipment supplied to the Special Forces Regiment, and said the ministry should ensure the equipment purchased was up to par in terms of quality and specifications.
On Sept 10, Ahmad Zahid had said the ministry took the comment positively and would look into the issue.
"I will scrutinise the purchase for differences in specifications," he had said.
Opposition leaders have also jumped on the issue and questioned the vast differences in prices of military equipment purchased before, alleging that there could be some hanky panky going on within the ministry.
Earlier, at the function, Ahmad Zahid presented the 1Malaysia Undergraduate Discount Card to 2,259 UPNM students, entitling them to between 5% and 60% discounts at 215 companies with 2,636 branches nationwide.
Meanwhile, a pilot project by UPNM saw 34 cadet students who had been experiencing difficulties in their studies last semester switch their courses after guidance from the university.
UPNM deputy vice-chancellor (academic and international) Prof Dr Rugayah Mohamed said UPNM students face different challenges compared with students in other universities, including higher expectations both academically and physically.
"They have to be not just physically strong, but also strong mentally.
"Here, switching courses isn't as straightforward and easy as in normal universities, but we interviewed all these students and guided them to other courses, where they have begun to excel," she said yesterday.
-thesundaily
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