Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said on Thursday that the President has rejected the proposed purchase of the helicopter as the existing helicopter can still be used.
The Indonesian government had earlier reported that it was still studying a plan to buy a helicopter for the President.
"I do not want to speculate. But, we will see whether the existing presidential helicopter needs to be replaced or not," Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan said on Sunday after seeing off President Joko Widodo and First Lady Iriana, who were leaving for a visit to Paris, France.
The plan will be discussed again when the President returns after attending the Paris Climate Change Conference next week.
The media had earlier reported that Indonesian Air Force will buy three helicopters for very very important persons (VVIPs) under the 2015-2019 Air Force strategic plan.
"For the time being, we will use the strategic planning budget to buy three helicopters for the VVIP Air Squadron," stated Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Agus Supriatna at a gathering with the media at the Wisma Angkasa building in South Jakarta on Nov. 24.
He emphasized that the purchase of the VVIP helicopters for the President, Vice President, state officials, and guests of the country will prioritize safety and comfort.
The plan to buy the three AW101 modern and sophisticated helicopters is purely the result of a study conducted by the VVIP Air Squadron, which was further evaluated by the Military (TNI) Headquarters.
"This is the result of our study, and after a thorough assessment, I decided to buy the VVIP helicopters," the Air Force Chief of Staff confirmed.
Agus added that depending on the budget, the helicopters will include security features, such as a bulletproof body, anti-jamming devices, and anti-missile systems.
He expressed hope that the first AW101 helicopter would arrive before April 9, 2016.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2015
