PM happy with progress of Sendayan air base development - Hishammuddin

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein conveyed this to reporters after accompanying Najib on a visit to the site of the 303.5-hectare air base.

Najib and Hishammuddin were accompanied by Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan on the 90-minute tour of the site.

"He (Najib) is personally satisfied with the progress. He has been the target of baseless criticism by certain quarters. After seeing the progress for himself, he feels the visit was worthwhile.

"On behalf of the Prime Minister, I extend congratulations to all involved in this development," Hishammuddin said at a press conference following the visit.

Also present were Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan and Chief of Air Force Gen Datuk Seri Affendi Buang.

Earlier, Najib was briefed on the construction of the air base by Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT) chief executive officer Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin.

The Prime Minister signed a plaque as a symbolic gesture of naming the facility as the Sendayan Air Base, planted a sapling and was taken on a tour of the site.

The Sendayan Air Base project was started in 2013 under a plan to make it the biggest professional training centre for Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF)officers and personnel in the fields of logistics, administration and management.

Located 15km from here, the air base will also have a sports complex, a nine-hole golf course, an equestrian club, a swimming pool, an Islamic centre and a residential complex.

Hishammuddin said the construction of the Sendayan Air Base put paid to the allegation by certain quarters that the resettlement of the RMAF personnel at the Kuala Lumpur Air Base, which would be developed as part of Bandar Malaysia, would never be realised.

"The Sendayan Air Base is no longer merely on paper. Construction has reached 80 per cent ... the end-users, the RMAF personnel and their families, will benefit from the plan," he said.

He said the air base, which was expected to begin operations early next year, would not have a runway because there would be no flight operations.

The resettlement of the RMAF personnel at the Sendayan Air Base would take into account their comfort and welfare and the schooling needs of their children.

Hishammuddin also said that five new military camps would be built, two of them in Johor and one each in Pahang, Perak and Sabah.

Besides, he said, 10 existing camps would be upgraded, among them camps in Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Sarawak and Sabah.

"All the plans that I stated are part of the initiative to strengthen the national defence system in line with the ministry's main thrusts, namely welfare, security and preparedness," he said.