Eurocopter deal still on behind our backs?

This is in response to the "Govt scraps Eurocopter deal!" article (27/10/08)

PETALING JAYA: Negotiations to purchase 12 Eurocopter helicopters for the RMAF are still on, sources said. When contacted yesterday, a source said high-level officials of the Defence Ministry had not received any instruction from the Government to cancel the programme. [The Star, 28/10/08]

On October 26, it was reported that the government had decided to scrap the controversial purchase of 12 Eurocopters worth RM2.3 billion over recent global economic uncertainties. However, the Royal Malaysian Air Force said that the news of the government abandoning negotiations with Eurocopter was baseless as it had not received any orders to do so.

It was also revealed that the RM2.3 billion deal was overpriced as Brazil had purchase the same Eurocopter models for half of what Malaysia would be paying. Hence, many in the public and the Opposition benches have cried foul and demanded that the deal be reviewed by the Public Accounts Committee and the Anti-Corruption Agency.

Was the Malaysian government lying to the public or was it a mere misreport by the press when it was announced that the Eurocopter deal was to be scrapped?

But then again, any fault by the press seemed irrelevant now as the real concern lies with the money the government would be forking out to fund the purchase of 12 EC-725 Cougars.

What seemed like a brief sigh of relieve for taxpayers with the news of the deal being scrapped has now turned into a costly U-turn by the government which could see the return of every taxpaying Malaysian's nightmare.

LATEST UPDATE (October 28): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has officially announced that the Eurocopter deal was to be suspended for the time being so that funds could be alocated to more pressing projects. He also clarified that the actual cost was RM1.7 billion and not RM2.3 billion as reported by the media.