KUALA LUMPUR – Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Wong Kah Woh has defended the integrity of the investigation into the contentious littoral combat ship (LCS) project after being accused by Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi of lacking sensitivity on national security issues.
In a statement today, Wong said none of the witnesses requested for any information in their PAC testimonies to be removed or amended, after copies of the Hansard were delivered to them prior to the release of its report last Thursday.
Standing Order 83(10) of the Dewan Rakyat requires witness evidence to be sent in proof to the witness, who is then given seven days to suggest any corrections due to inaccurate reporting.
According to Wong, Zahid himself made no correction to his PAC testimony dated October 25, 2021, after the Hansard was sent to him through post on January 4 this year.
“If any sensitive issues involving national security and an amendment or deletion are suggested by the witness, PAC will discuss whether to allow the request, including obtaining legal views from the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
“In the LCS proceedings, no witnesses made such requests,” he said today.
Wong was responding to a Facebook post by Zahid, who was defence minister during the early days of the LCS contract negotiations, urging PAC to be more sensitive in handling the investigation process, particularly on the issue of national security.
According to the DAP lawmaker, every witness who testifies before the PAC is aware that all information revealed during proceedings will be recorded and that the committee’s report will be based on the statements provided by these witnesses.
Wong also noted how the PAC has agreed to omit certain sensitive information from its report on the request of witnesses in a couple of other proceedings involving the government’s procurement of Covid-19 vaccines and another on the Defence Ministry’s land swap deal.
In the vaccine procurement proceeding, Wong said PAC reached an agreement with Khairy Jamaluddin, who was then the science, technology and innovation minister, to leave out the cost from its final report.
“We made that decision to ensure the government is not exposed to the risk of contract termination by vaccine manufacturers, which could have been detrimental to our Covid-19 vaccine supplies then.”
Wong said in the case of LCS, the PAC had tabled a report that was based on facts, documents and statements obtained throughout the proceedings.
“The conversations among the rakyat concerning this issue show how much they want to know what actually happened with this LCS project.
“PAC respects the need to maintain sensitivity to national security. However, as the PAC chairman, I will not allow the name ‘national security’ to be abused simply to obstruct the rakyat from gaining actual information on how the government spent their money.” – The Vibes, August 9, 2022
