LEMBAGA Tabung Haji (TH) has sought to distance itself from a subsidiary company of the same namesake that was recently mired in the delayed delivery of three offshore patrol vessels (OPV).
In a statement today, the pilgrim’s fund said TH Heavy Engineering Bhd (THHE) is no longer a TH subsidiary or associate company under the TH umbrella.
“TH’s interests in THHE were completely taken over in 2018 by Urusharta Jamaah Sdn Bhd (UJSB), which is a subsidiary company parked under the Finance Ministry (MOF),” it said.
UJSB is an asset management company tasked with managing assets transferred from Government-related investment companies.
TH added that the transfer of THHE to UJSB was done because of THHE’s company’s purported “poor performance” and because it did not give expected returns to TH.
“TH is now on a good track and continues to strive to strengthen its financial position, governance and operations in line with the recovery of the national economy,” it said.
Fresh on the heels of the littoral combat ship (LCS) scandal, the undelivered OPVs are soon turning into the country’s next maritime procurement scandal.
This after the three OPVs, which should have been delivered to its end-user, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), by now, have yet to be completed as well.
“Far behind schedule”
Yesterday (Aug 2), Perak Pakatan Harapan chairman Datuk Seri Mujahid Yusof Rawa claimed the project is far behind schedule, noting that the completed OPVs should have been delivered in February 2020, May 2020 and August 2020.
The delays continued even after the Government gave an 18-month extension so that at least one OPV would be delivered last month, which did not materialise.
Mujahid also alleged that RM500 mil so far has been spent out of the RM739.9 mil price tag but the MMEA has yet to receive a single vessel.
Similarly, the LCS project was the talk of the town after the Public Accounts Committee (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 to the Royal Malaysian Navy already.
According to the News Straits Times, the former de facto religious affairs minister said THHE is responsible for the supply, delivery, testing and commissioning of the OPVs as it was awarded the RM739.9 mil contract for the project.
In calling for the PAC to investigate the procurement of the OPVs, Mujahid questioned why THHE was awarded the contract in 2017 when they have no known expertise in building ships.
The TH chairman at the time was Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim. Mujahid claimed Azeez got the contract through direct negotiations from then-prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who was recently sent to jail for corruption.
Destini Sdn Bhd – BN linked?
Mujahid further claimed that a company THHE had a joint venture with to satisfy a requirement of the contract – Destini Sdn Bhd – was linked to Barisan Nasional (BN) and that Destini abandoned the OPV project in 2021, leading THHE to buy back the 51% shares from them.
He also told FocusM that THHE is slated to be de-listed on the Bursa stock exchange on Monday (Sept 5) after it was placed in the Practice Note 17 (PN17) category, indicating it is a “sick” company that is suffering from debt and required to deregulate and restructure its debt.
Sinar Harian previously reported that THHE has been facing losses of up to RM628.9mil and debt amounting to RM165mil, while only having cash flow of RM27.5mil to complete the said vessels, undermining its ability to complete the OPV project as planned.
Reports indicate most of the MMEA ships are “hand-me-downs” from the Navy and the Royal Malaysian Police Force (PDRM).
Unlike regular vessels, OPVs can operate in the sea for up to 21 days for patrol, surveillance and enforcement efforts. They are also equipped with light defensive weapons such as machine guns and a helipad.
The three OPVs have since been renamed the Tun Fatimah class, which THHE and Destini worked with The Netherlands-based Damen company to design.
Destini was also behind the six Bagan Datuk New Generation Patrol Craft (NGPC) vessels for the Malaysian Coast Guard that were commissioned in 2015 during Najib’s time and completed in 2018. – Sept 3, 2022
