YOURSAY 'Reading this news makes me shiver at the thought of the crew. I pray that the submarines will surface after every dive.'

Ex-military men say graft risks lives of soldiers

your say Meranti Kepong: This news report is quite a revelation on the extent of corruption within the Defence Ministry.

Hence, in case of a war, our country could (like during the Second World War when we were invaded by the barbaric Japanese) be overwhelmed and our soldiers defeated even without firing a shot because of all the sub-standard military hardware.

It's high time that the defence minister and PM Najib Razak be asked to explain themselves in Parliament.

Anonymous_4182: All corrupt practices are bad. But some are just horribly bad. The defence of a country against the enemy cannot be compromised.

Thus, if for the same budget, we can get only one fighter jet instead of five, that is treacherous. Worst, that more expensive fighter jet may not be up to the specifications we need.

The same goes to our patrol boats, our armoured personnel carriers, submarines, basic arms for soldiers and night vision binoculars, etc.

Anonymous_3e4b: Corruption in procurement also occurs on a horrendous scale in PDRM (Royal Malaysian Police).

I speak from personal experience. My uncle was in charge of procurement orders for PDRM under a certain IGP (inspector-general of police). He was ordered by the said IGP to approve tender contracts from certain favoured contractors.

Needless to say, the stuff that those contractors supplied were sub-standard. My uncle refused to do so without clear written orders from the IGP. Needless to say again that the IGP didn't have the guts to do so.

My uncle was eventually transferred out to a God-forsaken post and passed over promotion numerous times until the IGP retired.

My uncle's replacement, I'm told, quickly approved all verbal orders from the IGP and subsequently rose rapidly through PDRM.

Pronto: If you list down all the useless military equipment - big and small - aircraft, naval ships, communication equipments, arms and personal wear such as green underwear and ‘parang', it's billions down the drain.

We pay for a Mercedes, but get a Kancil instead. That is what happened all these years.

Jimmy Ng: And that, ladies and gentlemen, just about sums up the corruption we are experiencing in this great Bolehland - the land which has become a rich hunting ground for the Umno elites and the rich and famous.

Where due to the lack of transparency and accountability, they are getting away with daylight robbery and even murder - all at the expense of the ‘small' people (aka rakyat) in this nation.

Swipenter: Beside putting their lives in danger, our soldiers are made to vote for only one party.

IloveBN: Many of our past soldiers, police personnel and navy personnel may have their children in the armed forces. I plead to them to stop this rot.

Do you want your kids to go through what you have gone through? Please save your children and those of others from these corrupt people.

Lim Chong Leong: Will Najib and Zahid, as former and current defence ministers, be going to testify at this forum or are they just going to keep their deafening silence again?

A submarine that does not submerge is a joke but one that cannot resurface is deadly embarrassing. And not to mention collateral damage with C4s and the loss of RM500 million in commissions.

Military men, your lives are being sold to the devil for 12 pennies. And your postal votes are being distributed like candy amongst Umno thieves. Defend not this regime, but your flag and country.

Pissed Off: These are brave men who lay their lives on the line for the safety of this country and they deserve nothing less than the best the country can afford.

Short changing them on the cost and quality of their equipments is treason of the highest order to the country and the king... and the those who perpetrate such acts should be executed military-style in full view of the public.

Louis: Reading this news makes me shiver at the thought of the submarine crew. I pray that the submarines will surface after every dive!

Defence budget transparency rated 'moderate to low'

Changeagent: Unlike Colombia with the world's best practice in defence budget transparency, 95 percent of Malaysia's spending are deemed too sensitive and usually classified as 'top secret'.

Who can forget the RM500 million commission paid to Perimeker, a mere RM2 company with zero experience in submarine procurement nor maintenance matters?

Or the 12 percent commission paid to IMT Defence Sdn Bhd, headed by a former Malacca chief minister, for the purchase of 18 Sukhoi fighter jets?

Or how about the fact that we paid US$2.3 billion for 12 Eurocopter EC725 helicopters when Brazil only paid US$1.2 billion for 50 units of the same model?

The fact that we are ranked alongside Afghanistan is an achievement in itself.

Armageddon: Is our defence budget seen as non-transparent because we are secretive in what we buy or because we are secretive in where the money actually goes?

Bernard Phillips: Malaysia is behind Indonesia in defence budget transparency? Having worked in Indonesia, I - never in my wildest dreams - believed that was possible.

We have a serious situation here, people. No more hoping that the BN and Najib can turn things around to save the country.

Corruption is the worst disease the country can have. Much worse then religious or racial intolerance. Much worse then just an incompetent government.

 

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