‘We will cooperate over LTAT’

Defence Minister: negative balance in ag report not the full story

KUALA LUMPUR: The Defence Ministry is ready to provide explanations to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) regarding the negative reserve balance of the Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT), if summoned.

Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said the Auditorgeneral’s Report 2022 that brought this issue to light only highlighted a single fund, whereas LTAT had three reserve funds, which collectively were in a positive position during the specified year.

“There are three reserve funds, but the audit referred to one fund...collectively (the three funds) show a positive (balance), including this year. For the year 2023, it was also positive because there was approximately Rm900mil in LTAT reserves,” he said yesterday.

The report, tabled in Parliament last Wednesday, stated that LTAT’S reserves recorded negative balances for three consecutive years since 2020, namely Rm0.376bil, Rm0.285bil in 2021 and Rm0.338bil in 2022.

PAC chairman Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin was reported to have said that the committee would call up LTAT representatives over the board’s financial situation after the Hari Raya Aidifitri celebration.

In another development, Mohamed Khaled said a team consisting of seven officers and members from the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) has been stationed in South Korea since November last year to oversee the acquisition of the FA-50M light combat aircraft, Bernama reported.

He said pilot training to operate the aircraft would begin soon, and the acquisition of the aircraft was expected to take place by the end of 2026 or early 2027.

At the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (Lima) in May last year, the Defence Ministry and South Korea’s leading aerospace company, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), signed a contract worth Rm4bil to acquire 18 FA-50M light combat aircraft.

The FA-50M light combat aircraft is the most modern variant, known as the FA-50 Block 20, and boasts superior capabilities compared with other variants obtained by other countries, including South Korea and several South-east Asian nations.

The FA-50/T-50 light combat aircraft manufactured by South Korea is also used by the air forces of Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.