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TheSun8.5x19_FA-ol.ai 9/9/08 12:03:40 KET

 The  wor ld ’s 

h is o ys ter

No. 4627 PP 2644/12/2008 (020369)

WednesdayOctober 29, 2008

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Copter dealsuspended

by Giam Say Khoonnewsdesk@thesundaily.com

 KUALA LUMPUR: The RM1.7billion Eurocopter helicopter

deal has been suspended and themoney will be redistributed toprojects that directly benefit thepeople, Prime Minister DatukSeri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi

Low unlikelyto last asPKNS bossby Maria J. Dassnewsdesk@thesundaily.com

SHAH ALAM: The appointment of LowSiew Moi as Selangor State Develop-ment Corporation (PKNS) acting generalmanager (GM) for a year starting Nov1, may well be reduced to a few daysor weeks.

This depends on PAS’s ability tocome up with a better and moresuitable candidate, said its Selangorcommissioner Datuk Dr Hassan Ali.

Hassan, who is also executivecouncillor for Islamic and Malay Affairsand Infrastructure and Public Ameni-ties, said this after a brief meeting withMentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibra-him who on Monday announced Low’sappointment, although she was due toretire at the end of this month togetherwith present GM Datuk Harun Salim.

“The MB has heard us out andaccepted our thinking and informed usthat his appointment of Low over twoothers, deputy general managers HajiNasir and Tuan Ghani, was based on hercapability,” he said.

He was referring to deputy GM(Administration and Development)Md. Nasir Md. Arshad and deputy GM(Technical) Abdul Ghani Hashim.

“We feel Low has strengths, but thetwo others have their strengths toowhich should have made them eligibleto hold the post. The norm, when a PKNSgeneral manager steps down, is for thedeputy general manager in charge ofadministration and development totake over. But this did not happen,” saidHassan.

“Our aim under Low and hersuccessors is to boost the bumiputrastake in projects in the company fromthe present 25% to reflect the aims ofthe new economic policy.”

Hassan said PAS will look for thebest candidate to run PKNS which has800 employees, adding that a list of

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Counting his losses ... The Indonesian currencyfell as much as 9% before rebounding and the stock market plumbednear three-year lows in a dash to the exits sparked by a swift sell-off of government bonds by foreigners. The rupiah hit a low of 11,850 to thedollar, its weakest since April 2001, traders said. However, it recoveredafter President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised to institute steps tohelp the currency. He did not specify the measures to be taken.

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were often involved in accidentsthat killed not only the soldiers but also civilians. Therefore, the oldhelicopters must be replaced,” hesaid.

Abdullah added that a decisionto replace the RMAF’s 28 Nurismust be made by 2011 and thegovernment would want to makethe purchase earlier if possible asnew helicopters will need threeyears to be delivered.

He said Eurocopter was chosenin an open tender as it fulfilled therequirements and specificationsset by the ministry. He deniedthat the helicopter deal will cost RM2.3 billion as claimed by theOpposition, saying that the pricefor 12 Cougar EC725s from theEuropean firm was only about RM1.67 billion.

Asked when the government will resume the deal, Abdullah saidthe government will first assess itsfinancial situation.

On the scrutiny by the PublicAccounts Committee (PAC) of the Eurocopter deal, which willbe conducted today, he said sinceNajib had agreed to a scrutiny bythe committee, it will go on as it will also give the committee theopportunity to examine the dealwith the officers involved in thepurchase.

“It is a good thing for them (thePAC) to learn about the procedureused by the ministry and why thedeal cost so much. The helicopters(are expensive as they) come withhigh specifications for combat,search and rescue as well as trooplifting purposes,” he said.

On the allegations by the agent of a rival company that the deallacked transparency, Abdullah saidit was done through tender and hedid not believe that there were anyirregularities.

To a question, he said thegovernment will decide whetherEurocopter will still be given thedeal when the situation allowed forthe purchase or whether anotheropen tender will be called. He saidthe government had yet to informEurocopter formally of the decisionto suspend the deal.

announced yesterday.“We had decided during the

National Economic Councilmeeting on Oct 13 not to purchasethe helicopters at the moment because we need the allocationfor other projects and saving is very important for us now, to facean economic situation caused bythe world economic crisis,” hesaid after attending a Hari Rayacelebration at the Defence Ministry.

“We need to relocate theallocation for certain projects …because we cannot just borrowthe money when we need it. Thebest thing to do is to relocate, wewill do the projects that can beimplemented now.”

Abdullah, who took over thedefence portfolio in a swap withDatuk Seri Najib Razak who nowheads finance, said the government had decided that only projectsthat will benefit the people will begiven the allocation and that allministries were required to reducetheir expenditure by deferringsome projects.

“Suspending the purchase (of the helicopters) does not meanthat we will stop buying anyhelicopters, as we will do it whenthe financial status allows us to doso. The Nuri (military) helicopterswe have now are old and they