THE FORMER Royal Malaysian Navy chief who was in office when the first littoral combat ship (LCS) was launched has rubbished claims it was done to mislead and confuse the public.
This comes after Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Wong Kah Woh said the launch of LCS1 in 2017 (which was less than 44% completed at the time) was only to “provide the impression to the public that the vessel was already completed”.
Wong had also said that the mast which was installed on LCS1 during the ceremony in Lumut, Perak – at a cost of RM400,000 – was only a mock-up and to make the ship look “prettier” during the launch, which was graced by the Perak royal family.
Ex-navy chief Admiral (Rtd) Tan Sri Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin, who served from May 2016 to November 2018, said he could understand why people were up in arms over LCS1 not being delivered even though a launch was held.
“However, I am called to correct the negative perception brought about by lies that have gone viral, to protect the dignity and good name of the navy, which I love,” he said in a statement yesterday (Aug 10).
“It is important for me to set the record straight so the public is not confused by statements from certain populist and politicking parties,” he added.
Ahmad Kamarulzaman said the launch and naming of a combat ship before it was ready is an old navy tradition, adding that it was not the first time such an event took place at the Lumut navy base.
He also noted that this was reaffirmed by Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS) LCS programme director Captain Azhar Jumaat during his testimony during a PAC proceeding on Dec 11, 2021.
This is also a common practice in other countries as well, Ahmad Kamarulzaman added as he cited the launch of an unfinished LCS in France as one example.
“Therefore, the accusation that the LCS launch in Lumut in 2017 was done to cheat and mislead the public is not true,” he said.
“I must inform the public that the ship that was launched in Lumut at the time was the real LCS1 that was still being built, not a dummy,” he added. “This includes the mast that was rumoured as being fake.
“All of this has been elaborated on during previous PAC proceedings. So, nobody should be intentionally making a mountain of a molehill for their own interests.”
“The talk of the town”
The LCS project is the talk of the town after the PAC revealed that not a single ship had been completed – although the Government spent RM6 bil on the project so far and five ships should have been delivered by now.
The first LCS was contracted to be delivered in April 2019, the second in February 2020, the third in December 2020, the fourth in October 2021, the fifth in August 2022 and the sixth in June 2023.
The PAC also said that the defence ministry and BNS, which got the LCS project through direct negotiations, had ignored the navy’s views on the LCS project.
This includes views about a model design change after a proposal by BNS to then defence minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Amid the blame game by the Government and the opposition, the latter has called on the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) administration to apologise to Perak Ruler Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah and Perak Raja Permaisuri Tuanku Zara Salim for “misleading” them at the 2017 launch of PCS1.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has since said his ministry will comply with all of the PAC’s recommendations for the project.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), meanwhile, has completed its investigation into the LCS scandal for alleged graft and recommended charges to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC). – Aug 11, 2022
Main photo credit: Surface SITREP
