KUALA LUMPUR – A dubious company that had allegedly syphoned millions of ringgit in funds from the littoral combat ship (LCS) project has now been accused of having made claims for mundane everyday products that can be purchased from ordinary stores.
Citing Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Bhd’s forensic audit report on the project, PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli noted that Alizes Marine Ltd had issued invoices for the purchase of items like mineral water, cotton bud packs, cleaning cloths and fans.
These items, he noted, did not meet the criteria of defence spare parts, which the firm had purportedly made its claims under.
“Some of these items are everyday goods that could have been bought at Mydin supermarkets or 7-Eleven stores,” he said in a statement today.
The former Pandan MP also highlighted an excerpt from the forensic report which stated that the global purchase orders issued to Alizes Marine contained items that did not fall under depot-level spare parts, suggesting the high level of discrepancy and deception in the procurement process.
Rafizi had previously revealed that the offshore-incorporated Alizes Marine, allegedly linked to Special Functions Minister Datuk Abd Latiff Ahmad and his wife, had been paid about RM210 million to supply spare parts for the LCS project between 2011 and 2015, and other uncompleted works.
In his statement today, Rafizi sought clarification on how much of the RM1.7 billion spent to purchase LCS spare parts — as reported by the Public Accounts Committee — were used to buy the everyday products.
He said if Latiff, a Bersatu member, is not able to respond to these claims with facts or issue a denial, it is incumbent that political action be taken against him.
“Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob must sack him from the cabinet,” he said.
“Alternatively, (Bersatu president) Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin must formally notify the prime minister that his party has decided to replace Latiff with another candidate.
“This is an important test to see if Muhyiddin and Bersatu are truly honest about fighting corruption, as per the former’s statement in taking credit over (Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s) sentencing in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case,” he said.
His remark is in reference to Muhyiddin’s statement on Tuesday claiming Najib’s incarceration showed that his struggle over the years has counted for something. – The Vibes, August 25, 2022
