IN an apparent attempt to milk the littoral combat ship (LCS) issue to its advantage, Pakatan Harapan (Pakatan) has called on voters to bring back the coalition into power so it can probe the RM9 bil scandal.
In a statement today, representatives from the three main Pakatan parties – PKR, DAP and Amanah – promised to continue investigating the matter if it is given the people’s mandate during the upcoming 15th General Elections (GE15).
They claimed that Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Barisan Nasional (BN) had stopped investigating the matter after the Pakatan Government fell in March 2020.
“We will also execute whatever strategies put forth in the Defence White Paper that has been tabled (in Parliament) before this”, said Pakatan’s communications director Fahmi Fadzil (also PKR’s information chief), DAP publicity secretary Teo Nie Ching and Amanah communications director Khalid Samad.
“We will also ensure that our soldiers get the best treatment and they are provided with the best and appropriate equipment to be able to execute their duties for the country,” the trio added.
The LCS project is the talk of the town after it was revealed that not a single ship had been completed by Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS) – although the Government spent RM6 bil on the project so far and five ships should have been delivered to the Royal Malaysian Navy by now.
Amid the blame game by the opposition and leaders from the previous BN administration, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has requested Cabinet to open a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the scandal.
The scandal will likely screw up BN’s changes in GE15 since several BN leaders were in charge at the time of the scandal, including former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak and then-defence minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Both have since washed their hands from the scandal.
“Take it or leave it approach”
Fahmi, Teo and Khalid, meanwhile, slammed the apparent attitude of certain UMNO leaders who adopted a “take it or leave it” approach by ordering equipment and making changes without considering the views of the end-users (i.e. the navy).
They referred to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC)’s LCS report, which stated that Zahid ignored the navy’s recommended decision to contract six Dutch-made Sigma LCS. He had instead chosen the Scorpene manufacturer’s six French-made Gowind LCS.
“What was important (for these UMNO leaders) was to get the project for their cronies, and not to meet the needs of our navy,” they alleged.
The trio also noted that Malaysia, as a maritime country, is always exposed to threats such as robberies at sea, ransom kidnapping, prohibited goods smuggling, migrant invasions and seafood theft by foreign fishermen.
The Government also loses RM6 bil every year as a result of illegal fishing and other maritime crimes, they said, not quoting their source for the figure.
They also quoted Navy chief Admiral Tan Sri Mohd Reza Mohd Sany as saying that 61% of navy assets are obsolete, which means the navy cannot do its job effectively.
“Therefore, the navy needs to be in a state of readiness at all times to face maritime threats, which includes its equipment and capabilities of its assets,” said Fahmi, Teo and Khalid.
The Lembah Pantai, Kulai and Shah Alam MPs also noted that the navy’s request for LCS, complete with helicopters, to better protect the country’s waters and airspace, was included in the Defence White Paper tabled by Pakatan’s defence minister Mohamad Sabu.
“With what has been exposed over the LCS scandal, we are sure that those who are the most upset over the scandal are its end-users, the navy, besides other Malaysians,” they said. – Aug 18, 2022
Main photo credit: The Star
