GOVT TO RECONSIDER EUROCOPTER PURCHASE WHEN ECONOMY RECOVERS

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 (Bernama) -- The government will reconsider its
decision on the purchase of Eurocopter helicopters when the economy recovers,
Najib Tun Razak said Wednesday.

The deputy prime minister said the purchase was deferred temporarily
following the current world economic crisis.

"When the situation returns to normal the government can reconsider whether
to proceed with the purchase of this type of helicopter or make other
decisions," Najib, who is also finance minister, told a news conference
here.

He was asked to comment on the recommendation of the Public Accounts
Committee (PAC) that the government reconsider its decision to defer the
purchase of 12 Eurocopter EC725 helicopters costing RM1.604 billion.
(US$1=RM3.45)

The PAC, in a report distributed to members of Parliament, had proposed
that
the purchase be made by 2011 at the latest after taking into account that the
Nuri helicopters of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) were only safe for use
until 2015.

Najib said the matter involved two issues.

"One, we want to ensure that the purchase is done without any element of
abuse or unhealthy element, and this has been confirmed by the PAC. The PAC has
conducted a study and found that we have followed all the procedures in this
international tender, so the initial allegation is totally unfounded," he said.

The second issue was that the decision to defer the purchase was due to the
current economic situation which forced the government to give priority to
projects with high impact on the nation's economic growth and the people's
well-being, he added.
-- BERNAMA