THE Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) littoral combat ship (LCS) project continues to be the focus of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which insists there is no room for new delays after the government spent a large portion of public funds on the RM11.22 billion project.
PAC Chairman, Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, said they would continue to closely monitor the LCS construction project to ensure the five planned ships can be delivered to the RMN according to the set period without any increase in costs.
She said that as of December 2025, the physical progress of the entire project had reached 75.73 per cent, while the first ship, LCS1, had recorded a progress of 82.90 per cent.
According to her, LCS1 successfully underwent sea trials on January 28 at a speed of seven knots, but its delivery date had to be changed to December 2026, four months later than the original schedule.
"LCS2 is expected to be delivered in August 2027, while the delivery date of LCS3 to LCS5 remains according to the contract, which is April 2029," she told a press conference in Parliament today.
Mas Ermieyati said the project delay was due to a technical audit demand by the French Naval Group, which required rework on almost 4,000 components.
She said that among the repair work that needs to be done is the addition of about 50 kilometres of cable for LCS1 after the technical inspection is carried out.
“When PAC went to the ship itself, we saw for ourselves how complicated the repair and completion work that needs to be done is,” she said.
However, she stressed that the overall cost of the project remains at the original contract value of RM11.22 billion, and the government will not channel any additional funds due to rework or repair of obsolete components.
“All cost implications due to rework or repair of obsolete components are fully borne by the Lunas company without additional funds from the government,” she said.
In a similar development, PAC is paying serious attention to the issue of the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) export license after the Norwegian government withdrew and cancelled the weapons export license for the LCS project.
Mas Ermieyati said that this can have a major impact on the combat capabilities of the LCS ship if the ship is handed over to the RMN without a complete main weapons system.
She said that the Malaysian government has paid 95 per cent of the public funds for the entire contract value of the NSM procurement as a surface-to-surface missile for the project.
“The government needs to ensure that mitigation and diplomacy measures are strengthened to obtain a fair solution and safeguard the country's fiscal interests,” she said.
She said that the government also needs to make full use of the negotiation space or legal proceedings to claim appropriate compensation according to the agreed contract terms.
She also informed that the criminal investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) regarding the LCS project is still ongoing, while the governance investigation has been completed, with advice given to the Ministry of Defence in August 2023.
In the same press conference, Mas Ermieyati said that the PAC submitted six recommendations, including requiring Mindef and the RMN to submit progress reports every three months, ensuring that the cost does not exceed RM11.22 billion and guaranteeing that the five LCS ships are handed over to the RMN according to the set timeline. – July 8, 2026
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