KUALA LUMPUR – The government has agreed for the Boustead Group to continue with the littoral combat ship (LCS) project, which has been delayed since 2019, with certain conditions.
Senior Minister (Defence) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said this was decided at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
He said the continuation of the construction would save 1,600 jobs for workers and more than 400 vendors comprising Bumiputera SMEs.
“If the construction of this LCS is not continued, it will have a negative impact on the workers and the Bumiputera vendors involved.
"It will also affect the Armed Forces Fund Board, which is a shareholder in Boustead Holdings Bhd," he said in a statement last night.
Ismail Sabri said if the project is not continued, it would indirectly affect contributors who are military personnel and the bank that gave the loan for the project, would also suffer losses, as Boustead Naval Shipyard cannot afford to pay the loan.
It was reported that the Defence Ministry had conducted an in-depth investigation into the failure of the subsidiary of Boustead Holdings, which is Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS), to supply six LCS for the Royal Malaysian Navy. – Bernama, May 8, 2021