RMAF Base deal without Letter of Intent

'Sg Besi airbase deal inked without letter of intent'

Oct 12, 10

A Parliamentary written reply by the Defence Ministry on the redevelopment of the Sungai Besi airbase has raised more questions about the ambitious and controversial project.

According to the ministry, the government had in principle accepted the proposal by 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), in which its board of advisors is chaired by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

However, no letter of intent (LOI) has been issued, said Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (left) in his written reply to Tian Chua (PKR-Batu).

Chua points out that 1MDB had already signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Development to redevelop the 458 acre airbase.

The agreement was inked on Friday involving the redevelopment of the country's first modern air force base in the Klang Valley into the Kuala Lumpur International Financial District (KLIFD).

The project, part of the government's Greater Kuala Lumpur plan, is expected to cost in excess of RM26 billion. The signing between the two companies was witnessed by Najib.

"If it is true that 1MDB signed an agreement last week, Zahid's answer is misleading as a project cannot be granted to a company without a LOI," Chua (right) said.

He pointed out that national security is also a real concern, as relocating the airbase would bring a whole host of problems, not least being its strategic location.

"We have to look at how the security of the city will be affected by the move. There are very few countries in the world that do not have military protection for their capital cities," Chua added, taking the example of the Andrews Air Force base in Maryland, United States, that is 13km from the administrative capital of Washington DC.

PAS MP for Pokok Sena, Mahfuz Omar, urged the government to first table a white paper on the proposed relocation of the Sungai Besi base, as there is no indication that there is an equally strategic location to set up a new base.

"We also want the government to be clear on its policy on this because if their main reason is because the price of land at the base is high, then there's nothing to stop them to move the base again the next time the price goes up... it will be never ending," he said.MK