THE Defence Ministry has given an assurance that the littoral combat ship (LCS) procurement project to streamline the country’s naval assets will go through a transparent process without leakages and abuse of power or corruption.
Senior Minister (Defence) Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said military procurement must be planned with an out-of-the-box approach as defence and national security matters could not be compromised.
The minister pledged that he and the leadership of the armed forces “will do what is necessary to ensure that the responsibilities we have, the trust that has been placed on our shoulders, we will fulfil to the best of our ability”.
Hishammuddin said a defence industry policy was also being drafted, while amendments to the Armed Forces Fund Board Act had been approved to help contributors and protect the fate of veterans.
Meanwhile, Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Bhd (BHIC) said it was committed to ensuring the delivery of the LCS by abiding with all requirements of the Special Monitoring Committee to be set up under the LCS Revival Plan approved by the Cabinet recently.
The Cabinet unanimously agreed on April 20 to proceed with the procurement of the LCS for the navy and will monitor closely the six months’ mobilisation period to restart the project.
In 2011, the Government awarded a RM9 bil contract to build six units of LCS to BHIC’s associate company Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd.
In response to the favourable decision made by the government, BHIC said it is ready to mobilise its team working on the LCS project which will then provide frequent reports on the progress.
“We have the facilities and experience, and with the support and cooperation of navy’s LCS project team, our vendors, lenders and the government, we are ready to continue with the project,” BHIC CEO Sharifuddin Md Zaini Al-Manaf said in a statement. – April 23, 2022
