malaysiakini on SHADY ARMS DEALS

Even as the Altantuuya murder case drags on, another questionable arms contract is in the headlines.
This malaysiakini article Copter deal: Back up purchase with facts shows that people are more critical of how the government's prudence or lack of it is coming under greater scrutiny.
In Malaysia's arms purchases as the contracts are usually not government to government, the amounts paid are usually far in excess of a deal at arms length.
If you google under "French arms scandals" you can read how arms deals usually have many elements of corruption and nearly always involve important VIPs.
Much as one deplores the murder of a young woman like Altantuuya, to the arms dealers she would be merely considered as collateral damage.

Just a word on open tenders and such less corrupted deals.
Merely having open tenders is not good enough if there are corrupt people preparing the tender specification.
For example:
Suppose one takes this helicopter deal and specifies the minimum operating range (mor) as a vital spec. The person/s designing the tender can ask around and then fix the mor based on his preferred contractor who has the highest mor and that gives them the advantage.
I suggest defense contracts should be reviewed by a Parliamentary Defense Committee. But then if ministers do not bother to turn up for Parliamentary sittings, why would they even bother about such committees?