SEREMBAN – Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan denied claims that he was involved in the littoral combat ships (LCS) scandal as claimed by some, and labelled it as an attempt to tarnish his character.
Mohamad said such accusations were baseless because the decision to buy the LCS was made even before he was appointed as the defence minister.
“During the process of procurement, I was not even in Parliament. I was only appointed as the defence minister 11 months ago, so such accusations or claims is character assassination, he (the accuser) is out to tarnish my career,” he said when speaking at a programme in Paroi, Dataran Senawang, here yesterday.
A Youtube video that belonged to Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin had accused Mohamad of being involved in the LCS scandal.
The procurement of six LCS vessels by Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS) became a major scandal when the project was exposed after it was found that despite signing the contract 10 years ago, (October 3, 2013 to October 2, 2023), only 53.29% was completed as of May 31, 2019.
The Barisan Nasional (BN) deputy chairman also denied another accusation that he would soon be sacked as defence minister because he was not aligned with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as he was not seen with the prime minister during recent election campaigns.
“Do you know that the defence ministry received the highest special allocation from the prime minister? I appealed for RM200 million and it was approved – to repair and upgrade the homes of Armed Forces personnel.
“For those not receiving pensions, they were also given a special monthly allowance (for those 60 years and above) which involves about 50,000 personnel.
“I appealed for fighter jets, warships, radar, all approved but some claim that I am going to be sacked. I was down with a fever for four days and could not attend campaigns, but there are some who make up baseless stories,” he said.
The candidate for Rantau urged voters to ignore such claims.
There were also claims that the federal government would collapse if the results of the six state elections did not favour the unity government.
He said that they were baseless because regardless of the outcome of the six state elections on Saturday, it will not affect the federal government.
“...the federal government was formed with a two-thirds majority and it is not under any threat. There will be no party hopping because the anti-hopping law has been passed and enforced,” he said. – Bernama, August 11, 2023
