The police should be left to investigate the allegations of impropriety surrounding the chief of a major aircraft maintenance company, said Deputy Defence Minister Mohamad Shafie Apdal today.

He made the comment in response to yesterday's police report by PRM and Keadilan, who claimed that evidence have surfaced over alleged improper awarding of a RM 5.7 million Airod contract to Quality Ranch, a company of which Airod president Ahmad Johan (left) used to be a director.

According to the parties, payments to Quality Ranch were made for 'consultancy work' involving a stretch modification programme on two RMAF C-130 Hercules aircraft.

Airod had won the award - worth RM 102.3 million - as part of a bigger modification and improvement programme from the Defence Ministry in 2001.

No prior judgement

According to a Bernama report, Shafie (left) said "prior judgement should not be made" until the police had completed their investigation. However, he added that aircraft maintenance by the company should be allowed to proceed.

According to the report filed by PRM vice president R Sivarasa, Airod is indirectly owned by the Finance Ministry's bailout vehicle, Khazanah Nasional through its 10 percent stake of Aerospace Industries Malaysia (AIM).

It is not known how much of Airod is controlled by AIM, but Airod director and second Finance Minister Jamaludin Jarjis is believed to be its biggest individual shareholder.

The other 90 percent of AIM is said to be controlled by PJS Industries, a company which Ahmad sits as chair and director. AIM, now known as Nadi, is also chaired by Ahmad.

Issuance of cheques

The report also alleged that Ahmad had abused his position as Airod president by issuing 34 separate RM100,000 cheques to his personal account.

In addition, Sivarasa claimed that ever since Ahmad took over Airod, the company began to obtain the supply of its aircraft parts from another one of his companies, Fabel (UK) Ltd, rather than from the original manufacturers as previously practised.

The significance of this change, he said, was likely that Airod, and by extension the ministry, was charged higher prices for the same parts.