SHAH ALAM: The Malaysian Armed Forces Medical Corps took delivery of 50 Class B ambulances which were procured during the height of pandemic at the Kementah Camp on March 28. Defence Minister DSU Mohamad Hasan said the medical corps needed around 130 of such ambulances and more will be procured in the future.
A class B ambulance, according to the Health Ministry is a medical emergency vehicle – modified from a van or truck and equipped with life-saving devices but without a ventilator.
From The Star:
He added that the ambulances were ordered during the height of the pandemic.
“There was an urgent need for it at that time because the volume of patients required to be sent to the hospitals and quarantine centres reached a point where there were no more vehicles left to be used,” said Mohamad.
“Based on that, the ministry ordered the first batch of 50 ambulances which were all fully imported,” he added.
Mohamad said that the vehicles are all Class B ambulances
It was great that Mohamad explained that the ambulances were bought during the pandemic (PN/BN government) as checks on the Eperolehan website did not show any tender for similar number of vehicles during the last three years or so.
It was also great that Mohamad also explained that the ambulances were imported as the pictures from the event revealed that they were modified Toyota vans but looked different from the ones sold locally.
It is likely the local supplier – 5Tech Service Engineering Sdn Bhd, the company name could be seen on the main stage – had ordered them directly from Naffco, a UAE firefighting company. Naffco ‘s logo could be seen in pictures of the ambulance’s interior.
Naffco according to its website:
was founded in Dubai, UAE to become the world’s leading producer and supplier of life safety solutions. By recognizing the importance and convenience of having easy access to multiple safety services, we became specialized by offering complete solutions under one roof for all types of high quality firefighting equipment, fire protection systems, fire alarms, addressable emergency systems, security systems, custom-made vehicle such as fire trucks, ambulances, mobile hospitals and airport rescue firefighting vehicles (ARFF).
A Google search showed 5Tech Service Engineering is headquartered in Kepala Batas, Penang.
Mohamad did not reveal the contract price for the 50 ambulances though. Checks with Eperolehan website showed that AVP Engineering was awarded a RM10.8 million contract for sixteen ambulances for the Army. The tender was published in 2020.
AVP Engineering was also awarded the contracts for 100 type A and 490 type B ambulances which was tendered in April/May 2022. The contract price was not published in Eperolehan. Two Class B ambulances purchased by the Health Ministry via two separate tenders published in late 2022, costs RM396,990 each. The ministry deputy minister had also been quoted that the average price of a Class B ambulance, CKD and modified locally was around RM400,000 per vehicle.
Based on the fact, that an up-armoured Hilux pick-up truck purchased from UAE companies goes for around RM400K per vehicle, I am going to guess that the ambulance costs around RM200K ex-Dubai.
Meanwhile, Cendana Auto was awarded a RM27 million contract for the tender to supply 100 4X4 ambulances to the Civil Defence or Angkatan Pertahanan Awam Malaysia. The tender closed on January 18 2022.
— Malaysian Defence
As what I am aware, the tender could be WITH or WITHOUT the onboard medical equipment, meaning just the vehicle with the interior fittings & electrical points. So depending on the tender requirement, the pricing could be hugely varied not always comparable one to the other. Sometimes yes, but the devil is in the details.