PUSPAHANAS DREAM NOW A REALITY
National Defence Education Centre, first envisioned 47 years ago, to begin operations next week
THE country’s long overdue, foremost defence and security educational facility has finally been established. The all-new RM100 million National Defence Education Centre in Precinct 1 of the federal administrative capital of Putrajaya is ready to begin operations.
The facility, which was first dreamt of nearly five decades ago, is more popularly known as Puspahanas (Pusat Pengajian Pertahanan Nasional).
Armed Forces chief General Tan Sri Zulkifli Zainal Abidin said Puspahanas would begin operations from next week when the Defence Ministry formally accepted the facility, upon completion of inspection and
certification.
“The pioneer group of administrative staff has begun preparations to move into the facility.”
However, Zulkifli said, the first batch of students would only begin their courses in September, once Puspahanas was fully functional. He declined to comment further.
The New Straits Times, however, learnt that the delay in the student intake was to facilitate the current batches to complete their courses at two institutions in the vicinity of the Defence Ministry in Jalan Padang Tembak here.
These institutions are the Malaysian Armed Forces Defence College and the Malaysian Armed Forces Staff College, or Haigate, which cater to local and foreign students.
Puspahanas will house the two institutions and the newly established National Defence College (NDC), offering a variety of strategic and defence studies from diploma, degree, masters to doctorate levels for enforcement agencies and civilians.
A Defence Ministry spokesman said Puspahanas would now be the premier educational facility for the armed forces and would complement the Malaysian National Defence University (UPNM) in Sungai Besi, and the country’s recruit and officer cadet training facilities.
It was learnt that a “two-star” general is expected to head Puspahanas as its first commandant.
The spokesman said: “The final touches for Puspahanas, which was envisioned 47 years ago, have been completed before the interior fittings, furniture and other amenities were put in place.”
The estimated cost of completion, including land acquisition, planning, development, engineering, architectural, construction and consultancy, is believed to be around RM100 million.
The spokesman said Puspahanas housed offices, lecture halls, classrooms and accommodation facilities.
“While Haigate prepared officers of the rank of major for career development, the Malaysian Armed Forces Defence College prepared lieutenant-colonels for promotions.
“The newly established NDC will cater to officers from the rank of colonel, or its equivalent from government agencies and related industries.”
He said there were plans to house the Malaysian Institute of Defence and Security (Midas) at Puspahanas, but a brand-new facility for the institute was secured at the Defence Ministry last year.
The Puspahanas delay caused a chain reaction for the relocation of other armed forces’ facilities.
“Due to the delay, other military institutions also experienced delays in shifting to their new premises.
“For instance, the Armed Forces Joint Warfare Centre was supposed to occupy the vacated Staff College, while the Armed Forces Medical Services headquarters was supposed to move into the Defence College premises.
“The original plan to house Midas at Putrajaya was shelved and it moved from a rented premises at Bangunan Zetro, Wangsa Maju, to a new building in the Defence Ministry,” said the spokesman.
The NST was informed that the delay resulted in the Defence Ministry incurring an estimated RM95,000 in monthly rental costs for the Armed Forces Medical Services to be temporarily housed at Menara KUB in Jalan Yap Kwan Seng.
To date, the rental costs have ballooned to nearly RM3.5 million.
A defence contractor said Puspahanas was originally planned to be built at Templer’s Park in Rawang, Selangor, but the ministry was entangled in land takeovers and negotiations with suitable contractors from 1972 to 1985.
“Between then and the late 1990s, the project was stalled for varying reasons. Finally in 2005, former Selangor Umno leader Senator Datuk Raja Ropiaah Raja Abdullah’s company, Awan Megah Sdn Bhd, was awarded the project to be completed by 2011.”
Raja Ropiaah was reportedly awarded the project in exchange for some 80ha of land in Bukit Raja, Selangor, and RM27 million.
In 2008, then prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi officiated the project’s groundbreaking in Precint 1, Putrajaya. In 2015, the Auditor-General’s Report revealed that the government incurred RM26.87 million in costs, owing to project delays and land devaluation. The report said Putrajaya did not get the “best value for money” in the much-delayed project.
One weakness was the delay in construction by 282 days as of July 29, 2015. The government had to bear RM26.87 million in costs due to land devaluation.