What was the Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) thinking when he bought a 24-series Lear jet for use by the Aeronautical Engineering Faculty? The plane now languishes in what used to be a parking lot for buses because UTHM has run out of money to build a proper hangar.
At the same time, the construction of the proposed training facility is way behind schedule. It was supposed to be ready in November 2014 and the contractor has already been given three extensions to his schedule.
What is happening in UTHM? Doesn’t it have cost estimators for specific projects? Why did the Cabinet approve the purchase of the jet? How many universities, with just handfuls of aeronautical engineering students, have their own Lear jets? Have the VC and the Cabinet made an error of judgement?
Malaysian government departments have, time and again, failed to think of maintenance and servicing costs when they purchase expensive items. They think of a purchase as a one-off expense, forgetting that when problems develop, they will have no money to spend on rectifying them.
This should remind us of the rural man who made a shopping trip to the city and decided to buy the latest American-made fridge, one that had an ice making machine. He used his life savings, relishing the thought of being the talk of his village for being the owner of the best fridge around.
The fridge was delivered after a gruelling trek inland, but because the man’s power supply came from a generator that was turned on only for two hours a day, it turned out to be quite useless. In the end, it was used to store clothes. That’s an expensive wardrobe, indeed.
Is the UTHM VC a bit like this man from the kampung? Was he so carried away by buyer’s elation that he forgot about maintenance, hangar requirements and other necessities?
The Cabinet is also to blame. Is cronyism involved in this particular purchase? According to Malaysiakini, the RM915,335 contract to supply the jet was awarded to Global Aerospace Sdn Bhd. The Auditor-General’s Report of 2015 noted that the aircraft had been parked in a modified parking lot for buses and that safety requirements were not met. Despite cabinet approval for the construction of a permanent hangar, the university was not given any funds for it.
We’re told that the original plan was for the aircraft to be parked at a location in Tanjung Laboh, where there’s a runway and a proper hangar. We have to ask why there’s a need for such a training facility to be located at a place with a runway. Was the jet meant for more than just disassembly for training purposes?
If the government had any sense, it would have realised that it was wasting money on the jet. After all, the Aeronautical Engineering Faculty has only about 20 students. It is doubtful that many such faculties, even in established universities in the UK, have their own Lear jets, hangars and runways.
How many Malaysian universities waste as much money as UTHM does?
Mariam Mokhtar is an FMT columnist.
With a firm belief in freedom of expression and without prejudice, FMT tries its best to share reliable content from third parties. Such articles are strictly the writer’s personal opinion. FMT does not necessarily endorse the views or opinions given by any third party content provider.