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KUALA LUMPUR – Former defence minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has distanced himself from the ongoing multi-billion-ringgit littoral combat ships (LCS) scandal, claiming that delays happened prior to his time in office.
The Umno president stressed that the procurement failure should not be related to him as he was not the defence minister when the project was awarded.
He added that Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd, the vessel provider, is a subsidiary of Boustead Holdings Bhd, which has the Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT) as its biggest shareholder.
“According to the audit report by the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the contract with Boustead is in line with procurement application through direct negotiation guidelines and is dated April 17, 2002.
“Evidently, the matter has nothing to do with me, and LTAT itself holds the biggest portion of shares in the LCS supplier company,” he pointed out.
Zahid, who held the position of defence minister from April 2009 to May 2013, also urged those involved to give their full cooperation to PAC.
“Any party that has caused delays in the procurement process should own up and provide their explanation to PAC,” he was quoted as saying by Umno Online.
“This is to support the exposure of said failures,” he said, noting that he is willing to provide his testimony to PAC so that the proceeding can be resolved soon.
Yesterday, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said that its investigation into the LCS procurement controversy is in the final stages, with investigation papers delivered to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
On Thursday, PAC disclosed that key findings from proceedings on the matter revealed, among others, that while the government has paid a total of RM6.083 billion for the project, not a single LCS ship was completed.
This is despite how, according to the original schedule, five LCS should have been completed and delivered by this month.
PAC also recommended for the MACC to take prosecutive action in the LCS affair, with the suggestion being made based on findings from several reports, namely its report, which included the testimony of former navy commander Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar.
It was reported on Friday that his testimony revealed how top government officials were alerted on numerous occasions of possible problems emerging from the procurement process of the six ships but took no measures to address them.
According to Aziz, who was the navy chief from April 2008 to November 2015, he had expressed his suspicion and the view of the navy via letters of reprimand and dissatisfaction to the top echelons of the federal government and Defence Ministry.
This included two letters to the then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, five letters to the defence minister, 10 to the ministry secretary-general, and one each to the secretary-general of the treasury, and chief secretary to the government.
Aziz also testified that he suspected something was off with the LCS procurement because while the acquiring of the vessels was done by the government on behalf of the navy, Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd was given full control over the project.
The Royal Malaysian Navy has since expressed its support for any investigation into leakages in the project and said that proven offenders should be brought swiftly to justice.
The navy said the project’s delay has adversely affected its fleet combat capabilities and the morale of its officers as the LCS are critical to national sovereignty and security. – The Vibes, August 7, 2022
