Amid austerity measures, some Malaysian bloggers are questioning whether Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is now jetting across the country in a new luxury aircraft.
In blog postings by, among others, Big Dog and RockyBru, they pointed to an Airbus ACJ320 with tail number 9H-AWK using the call number, “Perdana 2” or “NR2” – which incidentally are similar to Najib’s initials.
The aircraft is registered in Malta and leased from aviation group Comlux.
According to aviation news website Aviation Week, Jet Premier One (M) Sdn Bhd, the company which manages flights for VVIPs in Malaysia, including Najib, had indeed leased the Airbus ACJ320 from Comlux, Malaysiakini reported.
The lease was supposed to be a temporary replacement for the regular aircraft Najib uses, an Airbus ACJ319, being refurbished by Comlux Aviation Services.
The Airbus ACJ319 with tail number 9M-NAA operated under the call name “NR1” or “Perdana 1” and is the official aircraft for the prime minister, similar to that of the US president’s Air Force One.
It first came under the spotlight in 2011 when Najib flew on the Airbus ACJ319 to Perth, Australia, apparently on holiday.
In a press release by Comlux May last year, the company had announced it had won a contract to rework the VIP area of the Airbus ACJ319 as well as handle scheduled maintenance works for six years.
The company did not specify the value of the project.
In the interim, Comlux leased an Airbus ACJ320 with tail number 9H-AWK to Jet Premier One.
It took over the call name of “NR1” and “Perdana 1” and was spotted taking off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport on 6 October to Denpasar International Airport, Bali, according to flight enthusiast site Jet Photos .
Najib left for Bali on 6 December for the Asia Pacific Economic Conference Summit.
The aircraft comes with a lounge, a private room equipped with personal bathroom and has WiFi and phone access while in the air.
Comlux did not reveal how much the plane was leased for but according to the company’s brochure, the approximate operating cost for its Airbus ACJ320 flight is $8,350.31 (RM27,501.75) per hour.
In another press statement in October last year, Comlux announced that it has completed refurbishing the “head of state of Malaysia aircraft” Airbus ACJ319 after working on it since its arrival at its US base in June that year.
Despite the return of the plane, the lease for the Airbus ACJ320 appears to be still active and has been spotted jetting around in Malaysia.
The Airbus ACJ320 changed its call name to “NR2” or “Perdana 2” while the ACJ319 took back its call name “NR1” or “Perdana 1”.
According to air traffic tracker website Flight Radar 24, the Airbus ACJ320 with tail number 9H-AWK last took off from KLIA under the call name “NR2” on 31 December.
The site also recorded the Airbus ACJ319 with tail number 9M-NAA taking off from KLIA on 26 December under the call name “NR1”.
In a parliamentary reply on 7 November last year, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Shahidan Kassim revealed that the government spent RM14.95 million for fuel and RM160.08 million in maintenance for VVIP flights in 2012.
The government aircraft include a Falcon, Global Express, Boeing Business Jet, Blackhawk, two Augustas and a Fokker F28.
However, that reply did not mention either the Airbus AC319 or Airbus ACJ320.
Malaysiakini has contacted the Prime Minister’s Department and is awaiting reply.