(Reuters) - Malaysia's decision over which fighter jet it will choose to replace its ageing fleet of 18 Russian-made MIG-29s might be delayed as the country focuses on cutting its budget deficit, Prime Minister Najib Razak said.
"It might take a little longer because we need to consolidate our fiscal position first and this is what people want and this is what the market wants," Najib told Reuters on Thursday on the sidelines of a conference in London.
"My priority would be to secure the macro position of the government to make sure our deficit is cut and at the same time we will spend on defence to the level we can afford to do, so...it all depends on how strong we feel financially."
Malaysia shortlisted five combat aircraft in March, principally the Eurofighter Typhoon - made by European consortium BAE Systems, EADS and Finmeccanica - France's Dassault Aviation Rafale, Boeing's F/A 18E/F Super Hornet and Russia's Sukhoi Su-30 and Sweden's SAAB JAS-39 Gripen.
Industry sources said at the time that the purchase could run into billions of dollars.
The government has however come under pressure to tackle its high budget deficit and growing debt pile. In July, ratings agency Fitch cut its outlook on Malaysia's sovereign debt to negative.
Countries such as Malaysia have become top targets for U.S. and European defence manufacturers who want to increase their share of exports to make up for falling defence spending in their home markets.
(Reuters)
Budget dah tak ada cos najib dan bini dia pakai shopping.
BalasHapusRahsuah,ketirisan,pembaziran jadi amalan pentadbiran najib..sekarang nak beli jet pun takda ongkosnya.
BalasHapusKettle calling the pot black? Don't be so nosy about Malaysia, look at yourself. You can't even build a single monorail line in your capital. Your airports are dilapidated. Your children are not properly educated. And yet you dream of having the largest armed forces in Southeast Asia. Where is your priority? Membangun bangsa bukan sekadar dengan peluru dan bom.
HapusKeputusan dan ungkapan bijaksana.
BalasHapusDisaat beberapa pihak tidak sabar menanti dan ada pihak lain juga menanti jawaban MRCA mana dan apa yg mau dibeli justru PM Najib beralasan yg sgt 'tidak popular'...hehehehe....bravo...!!!
Biar mereka2 panas dan terus2an angkat bicara seenaknya...gak ada bajet kek,gak ada uang kek yg penting hehehe....hanya PM Najib yg tahu...
Dunia udah tahu prinsip negara Malaysia soal ini kecuali indon yg harus koar2 soal alutsista...
Biar lambat asal bukan hibahan alias rongsokan....
Setidaknya indonesia menambah alutsista nya, pesawat tempur pun juga bergantung pada keahlian si pilot, mau pesawat baru atau hibah jika pilot Malaysia nya belum berpengalaman akan mudah tertembak oleh pesawat Indonesia. Salam indonesia
BalasHapusMengapa ya Indonesia sering kali beranggapan bahawa pilot Malaysia tidak berpengalaman, tentera Malaysia tidak sehebat TNI dan sebagainya? Apa mahu cuba beradu kehebatan? Jangan sampai negara Indonesia berpecah belah nanti.
Hapus