KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — The Defence Ministry is ready to provide explanations to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) regarding the negative reserve balance of the Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT), should they be summoned.

Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said that the Auditor-General’s Report 2022 that brought this issue to light only highlighted a single fund, whereas LTAT had three reserve funds, which collectively were in a positive position during the specified year.

"There are three reserve funds, but the audit referred to one fund... collectively (the three funds) show a positive (balance), including this year. For the year 2023, it was also positive because there was approximately RM900 million in LTAT reserves,” he said after the Royal Military College Putera Annual Parade at the Perdana Camp, Sungai Besi here today.

The report, tabled in Parliament last Wednesday, stated that LTAT’s reserves recorded negative balances for three consecutive years since 2020, namely RM0.376 billion, RM0.285 billion in 2021, and RM0.338 billion in 2022.

PAC chairman Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin was reported to have said that the committee would call up LTAT over the board’s financial situation after the Aidifitri celebration.

In another development, Mohamed Khaled said a team consisting of seven officers and members from the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) has been stationed in South Korea since November last year to oversee the acquisition of the FA-50M light combat aircraft.

He said that pilot training to operate the aircraft would begin soon, and the acquisition of the aircraft is expected to take place by the end of 2026 or early 2027.

At the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) in May last year, the Defence Ministry and South Korea’s leading aerospace company, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), signed a contract worth RM4 billion to acquire 18 FA-50M light combat aircraft.

The FA-50M light combat aircraft is the most modern variant, known as the FA-50 Block 20, and boasts superior capabilities compared to other variants obtained by other countries, including South Korea and several Southeast Asian nations.

The FA-50/T-50 light combat aircraft manufactured by South Korea are also used by the air forces of Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines in South-east Asia. — Bernama