By Wilfred Pilo
KUCHING, Oct 27: There are no plans to increase the assets of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) for the time being due to financial constraints.
Air Force chief General Tan Sri Affendi Buang said due to this setback, the plan now was to continue optimising its operational assets and forces.
“We hope it is only a temporary obstacle, as we want to safeguard Malaysian skies. I am very optimistic of our (country’s) future and that our air force will soar to greater heights in the future.
“Even though there is a minor hiccup in the budget, we have no question on insufficient manpower, as our human resource bank is enough,” he told reporters after officiating at the RMAF Open Day 2018 here today.
On recruitment, he said there was no problem recruiting Malaysians to join the air force, even from Sarawak.
“We hope there is no issue or perception that there is bias recruitment. No, there is no issue on selection and recruitment based on race or religion. If you qualify as per our requisite during the recruitment process, the chance is that you are hired,” he assured.
On the air show, Affendi said this was the second one this year, after the one at its airbase in Butterworth, Penang.
“We bring the air show here to show the public our latest assets and to give them an exposure of our capabilities. It is also to show the people here how our professionalism in aspect of air defence.
“The response is good, except that weather is not really on our side. It will affect static display of our assets,” he said.
Affendi said such airshows might continue to be held here in future, but it depends very much on the air traffic. He explained that such an airshow needed a base where the air traffic is not busy.
“That is why our airbase in Butterworth, Penang, is an ideal venue to have such an event,” he said. — DayakDaily
