The US-made Air Tractor AT-802F has joined the race for a multi million-dollar contract to supply firefighting aircraft to Malaysia, a senior official said today.

The aircraft will display its aerial capabilities to fight fire on Tuesday to senior government officials, Raja Ropiaah Raja Abdullah, chairman of Mega Machine Tool Technologies Sdn Bhd., the planes' local dealer, told AFP .

"It is a robust and cheap aircraft. Easy to train pilots and offers low maintenance cost," he said.

Malaysia's fire department is scouting for water bombers to fight bush and peat fires.

Raja Ropiaah said the price of the two-seater tanker aircraft was RM6.08 million.

Other advantages of the Air Tractor, owned by the US-based Air Tractor Inc., include its ability to carry 3,200 litres of water and be deployed for coastal surveillance operations, he said.

Can land anywhere

"It only requires a short take-off and can land anywhere. Hence it can respond to fire quickly," he said, adding that it is cheaper to operate two small tankers than one big tanker.

Raja Ropiaah said the Air Tractor, used widely used in the United States and Australia, was deployed in Indonesia in 1997 during the haze crisis to fight ground fire.

In July, a Canadian company demonstrated its Bombardier 415 Multi-Purpose Amphibian aircraft to Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. The aircraft cost RM120 million.

It can carry 6,000 litres of water and drop the water on fires like a gigantic spray. The aircraft has the ability to carry out maritime patrol and can be used for rescue operations.

Southeast Asia has been battling the haze problem annually since 1997 when parts of the region were blanketed for months, causing serious health problems and economic losses estimated at 9.3 billion dollars. AFP