The Malaysian Defence Ministry (Mindef) has received RM493.3m ($167m) as additional allocation to maintain two of its Scorpene Class submarines, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has said.

The additional amount raises the total defence budget to RM11bn ($3.7bn) this year, Hamidi added.

“In the original budget, there was no allocation to maintain two of our Scorpene submarines, nor for administrative purposes,” he said.

The two diesel-electric Scorpene submarines, KD Tunku Abdul Rahman and KD Tun Abdul Razak, were purchased from French defence company DCNS in 2002, according to the Malaysian Star.