Army Has No Plans To Retire Lipan Bara HMAVs, Dewan Rakyat Told

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Army (TDM) has no plans to decommission its 20 Lipan Bara armoured vehicles, which remain in use for operations and training, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari said of the total, 14 are operated by the Royal Armoured Corps in Kota Belud, Sabah, while the remaining six are stationed at the Armoured Training Centre in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan.

“All of these vehicles remain fully operational and continue to support current operational requirements,” he said when replying to a question from Datuk Seri Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz (PN-Tanah Merah).

Ikmal Hisham had wanted to know the army’s plans for the 20 Lipan Bara high mobility armoured vehicles (HMAV) made by Thailand’s Chaiseri, in light of the recent procurement of 4x4 Tarantula vehicles produced by Malaysian company Mildef.

Adly added that the ministry plans to procure 136 Tarantula units based on the army’s requirements as the end user.

He said the procurement aims to enhance TDM’s future capabilities and readiness in line with national defence needs.

Replying to a question from Muhammad Fawwaz Mohamad Jan (PN-Permatang Pauh) on the reassessment of the AW149 helicopter assembly plant in Melaka, Adly said the Defence Ministry is not involved in the development of the facility.

“In principle, the ministry is not involved as it is a business-to-business collaboration between private companies and the Melaka government,” he said.

He added that the plant was established through trilateral discussions between the Melaka government, Italian company Leonardo, and Westar Aviation Sdn Bhd, in line with the concession agreement for the lease of 28 helicopters for government agencies.

-- BERNAMA