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LANGKAWI – The Finance Ministry has established a special purpose vehicle to take over the company responsible for the littoral combat ship (LCS) construction project, Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS), as a subsidiary.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the LCS project will still be monitored by the Project Monitoring Committee jointly chaired by the Treasury secretary-general and Defence Ministry secretary-general.
“In addition, periodic reports to the cabinet will be prepared in accordance with the conditions set by the auditor-general. Periodic reporting to Parliament through the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will be done at least once every three months to ensure that the project can be monitored by all parties.
“This is necessary for us to achieve our intentions to continue the construction of the LCS as required by the Royal Malaysian Navy and Malaysian Armed Forces,” he told reporters after the signing of the sixth additional contract between his ministry and BNS today.
Controversy around the LCS project erupted after the PAC revealed that not a single ship had been completed even though the government had paid BNS RM6.083 billion.
Mohamad added that the PAC was welcome to monitor the progress of the ship construction, adding that the committee will receive reports based on their schedule and can take a look and make a report to Parliament if they are unsatisfied.
The PAC had previously suggested holding new proceedings on the project’s progress, which would begin as soon as the Dewan Rakyat approves the appointment of PAC members at the second parliamentary session that began on May 22.
He also said that the government had agreed to continue with the second-generation patrol vessel procurement for the navy, along with the Defence Ministry, and that BNS would fully focus on ensuring the LCS project is successful.
“The procurement is vital to boost our armada’s capabilities in line with the RMN’s 15-To-5 Transformation Plan to preserve the sovereignty of our country’s waters,” he added. – Bernama, May 26, 2023
