Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has dismissed calls for a royal commission into the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) F-5E jets engines theft.

NONE He said no commission was needed as a court proceeding on the case was under way.

"I am satisfied with the attorney-general's action and investigations into the case," he told reporters.

An Air Force personnel was charged with theft and a aviation scrap parts dealer charged with helping to dispose of stolen property in the theft case this morning.

Ahmad Zahid said he had also submitted a chronological report on the missing engines to the cabinet last Wednesday.

Engines worth ‘only’ RM29 mil

He said each engine worth between RM9 million and RM20 million, not RM50 million as reported by the media.

"Each engine could not fetch more than USD8.2 million (USD1 = RM3.38) and I hope the figure will be corrected," he added.

Ahmad Zahid urged all quarters, including bloggers not to create polemic, as investigations showed that no senior officers were involved in the case.

"It is unbecoming of certain bloggers to suggest that only small fry were netted while big fish got off scot-free. The court proceeding will shed more light," he added.

Police investigations showed the two engines were brought to the Matra 1 warehouse at the RMAF air base in Sungai Besi on Nov 1, 2007, before being transferred to a place in USJ, Subang Jaya, on Dec 30, 2007, and Jan 1, 2008.

Investigations also showed that on May 4, 2008, the engines were transferred into a container and shipped to Argentina where they were off-loaded.

- Bernama