Things seem to be happening around me in something of a flurry right now, so begging your pardon if jelas is not so jelas for a while.
pre-script: I’ve recently been worried about Selangor. Since Pakatan has not been making much noise, I shall for now defer to their wisdom, and hope that there is no actual cause for concern. That said, I think it is good for us to reminder that Perak happened to us blitzkrieg style – if there is a takeover, it will happen in hours, not days. Thus, every warning sign should be taken with extreme seriousness, no matter how small (there are rumours of a list as well). I’ll leave it at that for now, but hope to goodness that Pakatan leaders are not making any mistakes they should be good at avoiding after Perak.
Anyway, as I am somewhat unable to sort out the loud noise flying around today just yet (maybe later), let me just comment on the arrival of Malaysia’s first submarine.
I’ll be honest, submarines fascinate me immensely. I love submarine movies, and I’ve just finished reading Jingo (and been meditating on Pratchett’s considerable wisdom).
That said, I’m not going to let my little boy fascination detract from the many reminders that arrive with this vessel.
Many feel that the submarine is as good as haunted, blood coursing through its fuel lines.
I won’t pretend to know for sure who is ultimately responsible for the death of Altantuya, but I do strongly suspect that if not for this submarine, she might be alive today.
Can any military implement justify murder?
I am reminded as well of the inconceivably huge amount of money associated with the purchase of this submarine – RM 530 million commission to Abdul Razak Baginda’s Perimekar.
That’s a financial scandal on the scale of PKFZ, or any other seen in our dark and corrupt land. >:(
Let’s take a moment to remember the deceased, and mourn the robbery all Malaysians had to endure.
Just like the competition to name a new proton model, the Defence ministry should have competition to name the new submarine. We have naval ships named kd hang tuah, kd hang jebat etc.etc. I would be the first entrant to suggest the name KD Altantuya for the submarine.
What a coincidence? The delivery or the arrival of submarine is done in the month of the hungry ghosts. According to the Chinese belief, it is a sign of bad omen. Is the Mongolian ghost steering the submarine to shore?
An otter cannot harm you unless it’s allowed on a submarine.
I’m not sure why you like submarines – maybe some romanticized childhood fantasy about its wartime role still lingers in you. My childhood craze was warplanes. During my university days over 3 decades ago, I met a seaman who had served on a submarine during WW2. His lurid tales of claustrophobic living for months at sea in cramped quarters with dozens of often sweaty, unbathed, foul smelling, foul swearing seamen put me off submarines completely. Give me the sky anytime, it does’nt smell. As for Malaysia’s first submarine, it is more a white ‘whale’ swallowing our tax ringgit with great efficiency. Do we need one at all?
nat: hehe, dunno, mebbe ‘cos it’s like a spaceship :P :)
If i’m not mistaken.. the 2nd sub name is KD Razak for Tun Razak… but everybody will read it as KD Razak Baginda…
Nat,
Yeah, now that you mention spaceships, a submarine under water could be likened to a poor man’s airship in space. Different medium, water and space, but similar spin can be employed to inflate a nation’s ego to make it part with sizable cash reserves. Malaysia certainly has no earthly reason to buy a spaceship even though some people would dearly love it to. Think of the astronomical commissions one can earn as go between and logistics provider!
nat: lol! Kapal Angkasa Baginda, NCC 1701 C(4) :P
More on the way from RPK it seems….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQrZnhE-nd4
The cynic in me was one of those baying for blood, considering that any deals involving this French company seems to end up with a body count … the Taiwanese navy captain fished out of the water; the 11 French engineers blownup in Pakistan; Altantuya and the others we do not know about …
” Below is Najibs shopping list when he was Defence Minister (including the infamous subs), if these are peacetime military procurements I shudder to think of wartime requirements—
Royal Malaysian Navy
2 Lekiu Class Frigates
2 Kasturi class Frigates
8 LAKSAMANA CLASS CORVETTE(armed with ASPIDE SAM,OTOMAT)
1RAHMAT Frigate (104MM,40MM,ASRL,HELOS)
1 HANG TUAH Frigate -TRAINING
2 OPV (100MM,30MM TWIN,HELOS)
6 NGPV(BUILDING-VLSAM,MM40,LYNX 300) ( 25 more in the works )
4 SPICA M FAC(MM38,57MM AND 40MM GUN)
4 HANDALAN CLASS FAC (MM38,57MM AND 40MM GUN)
6 TNC 45 JERUNG CLASS FAC-G(57MM AND 40MM GUN)
18 KERIS CLASS PATROL BOATS
24 CB90H VERSION 2000 COMBAT BOATS
2 SCORPENE CLASS SSK(ON ORDER-SM 39) Submarines
1 AGOSTA 70B TRAINING(SM 39 MISSILES) Submarine
2 MPCSS MAHAWANGSA CLASS COMMAND SUPPORT SHIPS
1 NEWPORT CLASS LST
1 FAJAR SAMUDERA TRANSPORT VESSELS
4 MAHAMERU CLASS MCMV
20 LIGHT SUPPORT VESSEL EG-LCP
12 SUPER LYNX 300 ARMED WITH SEA SKUA
6 S AS 555N FENNEC
RMN HAS ABOUT 1000-2000 NAVAL ELITE FORCE -PASKAL
Royal Malaysian Air Force
18 SU 30MKM (Sukhoi (22) more on the works
15 MIG 29Ns
2 MIG 29NUB
8 FA 18D (8) more on the works
10 F5E (R)
3 F5F(R)
2 RF 5E TIGEREYE
16 HAWK 208 (16) more on the works
7 HAWK 108
30 A4 PTM SKYHAWK (R)
17 MB 339C (EX RNZAF TO BE PROCURE)
7 MB 339AM
8 PC 7 MK II
36 PC 7
20 MD3-160 AEROTIGA
8 C130H-30
2 C 130H
4 KC 130H (2 ON CONVERSION)
8 CN 235-220M (2 ORDER)
4 B200T MPA
8 CESSNA 402B
1 GLOBAL EXPRESS
1 REGIONAL JET VIP CRJ700
1 FALCON 900B
1 FOKKER F 28-1000 VIP
3 EAGLE ARV LONG RANGE UAV
28 SIKORSKY S61A4 ( 6 CSAR VERSION SOON)
2 AS 61N1
1 A109C
10 X MH-17 RUSSIAN HELI (DELIVERY SOON)
RMAF HAS APP 3 PROVOS/INFANTRY BATT-WITH 1 SOF BATT.
RMAF HAS PASKAU SPECIAL FORCE. MAIN MISSION TO TRIGGER LASER SIGNAL TO F-18. FROM TARGET SITE. F-18 TO DEPLOY THE PAVEWAY II BOMB BASED ON PASKAU SIGNAL.”
source: http://bongkersz.com/why-i-am-disgusted-by-the-rm60bil-stimulus-package-by-vijay-kumar-muragavell/
+
Lets not forget our “instant mee” space program ….
Now why do we need subs … same reason Dick Cheney went to war …oil !
Two months ago, General Zhang Li, former deputy chief of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and member of the Standing Committee, stated that the Chinese government should consider building an airport and a naval dock on Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands. ….
To drive home this message, Zhang argued that having these installations would also permit China to carry out air patrols of the area, support Chinese fishing vessels and underline the country’s claims to sovereignty of these disputed islands that are simultaneously claimed by Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan.
http://www.malaysiakini.com/opinions/110092
We should name the sub Altantuaya 1 and Altantuaya 2.
Nathaniel, i feel v sad actually, why there is no justice on earth ???
Why cant God strike those people to death to stop all the injustices ???
I feel hurt and i feel tremendous pain on Beng Hock’s death and Altantuya’s …
Dont tell me they will just die in vain ???
It has already been named Ghost of Altantuya by the people.
It’s a ship, no, it’s a sinking ship, no, it’s a submarine !!
uh…. it’s just a toy
NO NO We will never forget ALTANTUYA …..how she died and the reasons she died.
Let not her death be in vain…..Malaysians have already woken up and must stay united to bring about a better Society for all Malaysians.
One that is free of Corruption,Free of Racism & Discrimination, Free of fear of Crime,Snatch Thieves,
Bold Daylight Robbers & Rapists and Free of Politicans influencing the Police,Law Enforcement Agencies & the Courts.
Lets name submarine KD ALTANTUYA in her memory.
Hidup REFORMASI !
It seems to me that most of the commenters on this post judge most or all Malaysian military purchases as blatantly unnecessary. Isn’t this being a little simplistic, to allow disgust with the level of corruption that is going on in the present federal government, to cloud our thinking of matters of national security?
The Scorpenes are a case in point. Any military buff who follows the SEA defence scene would know that quiet submarines are handy tools in the business of force multiplication and to make life a little more difficult for larger opposing navies by tying up their resources, etc.
We all have the right to question how such big chunks of the country’s money is being spent but let’s not pretend to be experts and assert that we don’t need to spend a single cent on military hardware. The focus should be on key issues like the integrity the procurement process, and whether the people behind it truly have the country’s interests at heart or not. Indeed, the current PM has a lot of questions to answer to, and unfortunately it looks like he has not even bothered to craft a really convincing spin on it short of silencing the whistleblowers.
Note that most people who blog and comment on the local military scene are UMNO-BN diehard supporters. I don’t know if most of the people actually in the military are in that category or not, and in any case it is hard to know thanks to the issue of possible postal vote manipulation, but wouldn’t it be conceivable that our current line of thoughts viz-a-vis military hardware spending would only alienate this group away from the true cause of Pakatan?