A Royal Malaysian Air Force fighter jet involved in military exercises with four allied countries crashed off the east coast after the pilot ejected safely, the official Bernama news agency reported today.

The British-built Hawk Mk 200 jet was on a training mission during exercises by the Five Power Defence Arrangement (FPDA), which groups Malaysia with Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Britain.

The annual exercises run from Sept 2-14 and are based this year in Singapore.

Pilot hospitalised

The pilot, Captain Nadzeer Sallehuddin, 31, was picked up by helicopter some 40 nautical miles southeast of Malaysia's Tioman island tourist resort and hospitalised with head and leg injuries, the report said.

He reportedly refused to comment on the cause of the crash when visited by journalists.

"We have been trained to eject ourselves when the situation requires us to do so," he was quoted as saying.

The RMAF is understood to have 18 Hawk Mk 200 jets and 10 Hawk Mk 100

jets, the report added. — AFP