KUALA LUMPUR – Former defence minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi must not avoid blame for the multi-billion-ringgit littoral combat ships (LCS) scandal, Johor DAP chairman Liew Chin Tong said.
In a Facebook post, Liew said that Zahid had overseen the decision to change the design of the ships and must thus not overlook his responsibility.
“Zahid is responsible for the funds misappropriated and the LCS project failure,” Liew said.
“The LCS project was approved by Zahid as defence minister in 2011. Zahid also made the decision to change the Sigma design of the ship to the Gowind design before consulting and seeking advice from the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN).”
Earlier today, Zahid, who held the position of defence minister from April 2009 to May 2013, distanced himself from the LCS scandal, claiming that delays happened prior to his time in office.
The Umno president said that the procurement failure should not be related to him, as he was not the defence minister.
On Thursday, Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) disclosed that key findings from proceedings on the matter revealed, among others, that feedback from RMN as the end user was completely ignored by the ministry and vessel provider Boustead Naval Shipyard (BNS) Sdn Bhd.
It detailed that originally, the Sigma design of the ship, which was the choice of RMN, was agreed upon by the ministry. However, the decision to change to the Gowind design occurred on July 11, 2011 following BNS’ proposal on July 8 the same year.
PAC also recommended the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (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.
MACC said yesterday that its investigation into the LCS procurement controversy is in the final stages, with investigation papers delivered to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
It was reported on Friday that Aziz’s 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.
Labelling the decision to change the design of the ship as “something gravely wrong”, 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, BNS was given full control over the project.
The RMN 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
