Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Another Jet Engine gone AWOL

New Straits Times and Berita Harian revealed that another jet fighter aircraft engine, also costing RM 50 million had gone missing, five months after the first one was stolen. The Defence Minister, Zahid, said that those involved in the missing engines have been identified and gave the assurance that action would be taken against the “traitors”. After the first disappearance, we were told that a top military officer and his 40 thieves had been sacked. But the top officer is still enjoying his pension . How the government dealt with the perpetrators is really mind boggling. Being a national security matter, these people should be charged as traitors and sent to Kamunting straight away. The punishment is far from fitting the crime. In China, they would have been shot.

Najib has also promised that there will be no cover-up. The fact that this theft was kept from the public until now is already a cover up. As the Defence minister when the engines went missing, Najib should have revealed the fact to the public then.
Our present Defence minister, Zahid has also displayed his ignorance when he commented that no high ranking officer was involved in the theft. Isn’t a Brigadier-General who was sacked for his involvement a high ranking officer? Or is he taking a preemptive step to follow in the notorious umno tradition that only low ranking officers or ikan bilis are caught and punished?
From the statements by our ministers and leaders, it is obvious that we are in the game of passing the buck again. The military has reported to the police, the police is waiting for the AG for instructions as to the next course of action, the PM is waiting for the relevant authorities to wrap up their investigations, and also leaving it to the Air force and Armed force on the kind of action to take against the Brigadier-general. Can someone help to ‘decipher’ the above procedure?

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