Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu says he is willing to meet with lawyers engaged by human rights NGO Suaram over the legal suit filed in France relating to the 2002 purchase of two Scorpene submarines.

Asked if he was willing to be briefed by French lawyers William Bourdon and Apoline Cagnat on the court case currently being heard in Paris, Mohamad said: "Anytime."

"They should now write to me officially on the matter so that we can set a date for their visit to Malaysia," Mohamad told Malaysiakini when met at a buka puasa event in his hometown of Tasek Gelugor. 

Asked if the immigration ban on Bourdon, which was imposed in 2011, could be lifted so that the lawyers could freely enter the country, Mohamad replied in the affirmative.

"Yes, it would be, just as others who were previously barred are now allowed to enter the country, like Sarawak Report editor Clare Rewcastle-Brown."

Committee to probe scandals

Mohamad said efforts are currently underway to form a taskforce or committee to study the various contracts inked with the Defence Ministry, including the deal to purchase the submarines.

The case, filed by Suaram in 2011, involves the alleged payment of kickbacks paid to Malaysian officials amounting to millions of ringgit in the deal.

"I have discussed the matter with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and we are now planning to form the committee to study these contracts.

"We will handle the matter professionally, and like I have said earlier, our actions will be based on facts and not hearsay," he said.

When he took office on May 22, Mohamad vowed to probe BN-era scandals under the ministry, and pledged the move would be based on "facts and not hearsay."

Last week, Bourdon told Malaysiakini his team was planning to brief the Defence Ministry and Mohamad as early as July to facilitate the ongoing court proceedings in Paris.

The briefing would include all matters related to the case, including the possible indictment of Najib Abdul Razak, who served as defence minister when the Scorpene purchase deal was made.

The former prime minister is also currently under investigation over the 1MDB scandal.

His close associate, political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda (photo), was indicted by the French high court in July last year for allegedly receiving illegal kickbacks from Paris-based shipbuilders Thales and DCNS.

According to Bourdon, the Defence Ministry briefing is crucial as the French lawyers had not been able to obtain the cooperation of the previous administration. 

Filed by Suaram directors Kua Kia Soong and Cynthia Gabriel, the case had led to the indictment of several officers from the shipyard firm for allegedly paying kickbacks to Malaysian officials.

Other than Malaysia, Bourdon's team is also seeking cooperation with Hong Kong over the French authorities' probe linked to Terasasi, another company alleged to have received remunerations that were redistributed as kickbacks.

The Hong Kong-based company is owned by Razak Baginda and his father.

The lack of cooperation in Hong Kong, the lawyers said, had obstructed the identification of the beneficiaries of these alleged kickbacks.

The Scorpene corruption scandal centres on Thales and DCNS allegedly paying €114 million (RM570 million) in commissions and kickbacks to Malaysian officials through Perimekar Sdn Bhd, also purportedly owned by Razak Baginda, for the purchase of the two submarines by the Malaysian navy.