KL to buy MiGs with cash, palm oil

KL to buy MiGs with cash, palm oil

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Malaysia will sign a US$615 million deal to buy 18 Russian MiG-29 fighter jets next Tuesday and about a quarter of the payment will be made with palm oil, a government official and an industry source said yesterday.

"We will sign the deal next Tuesday," Defense Minister Najib Abdul Razak told reporters after the weekly cabinet meeting.

He said Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Soskovets would witness the signing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur.

Najib declined to reveal details of the deal, Russia's first MiG sale to a country in Southeast Asia, which was first announced last June.

Malaysia is also buying eight U.S.-made F/A-18 fighters and 28 British Hawk fighters as part of its air force modernization program. Both of these are cash deals.