KUALA LUMPUR: Only four out of the 28 Russian fighters jets owned by the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) are able to take to the skies, says Mohamad Sabu.

The Defence Minister said that the RMAF had 18 Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30MKM and ten MiG-29 jetfighters.

"Only four of the Sukhois are able to fly well," he said, adding that the remaining 14 are under repair.

In his reply during the motion of thanks on the royal address in Parliament Tuesday (July 31), Mohamed Sabu said the RMAF was unable to properly maintain the fighter jets' airworthiness.

He said the Defence Ministry had terminated the contractor engaged by the former administration and was looking at replacing them with local contractors.

Mohamad Sabu also informed the House that the ten MiG-29 multi-role jets entered service in 1995, while six Sukhoi Su-30MKM Air-Superiority Fighter were delivered in 2007 and the remainder in 2009.

Earlier, he said that the ministry would stop awarding honorary ranks to politicians to avoid any instances of them "pulling rank" and abusing their position.