IT WAS Boustead Naval Shipyard (BNS) chief executive officer (CEO) Captain Azhar Jumaat who said about 15% of total inventory worth RM1.7 bil stored in its warehouses was obsolete.
As such, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Wong Kah Woh finds it hard to accept that Azhar is now criticising the PAC’s report on the littoral combat ships (LCS) scandal for stating this.
During a media visit to its shipyard in Lumut, Perak, yesterday (Aug 13), Azhar said the PAC’s statement on this was “not entirely accurate”, as BNS’ equipment is only “in the process of being obsolete”, not that it is already obsolete.
He had also said that stored equipment – including electrical and mechanical parts such as the ship’s engines – can be utilised for a minimum of 25 years and is ready to be boarded onto the ships.
In a statement today, Wong pointed to Azhar’s testimony during a PAC proceeding on Dec 11 last year, where he was asked about whether BNS stocks were obsolete or not.
To this, Azhar responded: “We have a very detailed monitoring process. We make monthly reports to the Royal Malaysian Navy project team.
“In terms of percentage, as of now, about 15% (of BNS equipment) are already obsolete or reaching the process of obsoletion.”
Wong also shared screenshots of Azhar’s testimony from the PAC’s LCS report:
Wong said the BNS CEO was changing its tune after just nine months.
“Didn’t just write up whatever we liked”
The Ipoh Timur MP added that the PAC did not come up with the LCS report according to their own whims but based on witness statements given to them during official proceedings.
There were 21 witnesses who testified during 10 proceedings on the matter, he said.
It was these witnesses who raised their concerns about the issue of BNS equipment becoming obsolete and its warranty expiring, Wong noted, which is why the PAC took the issue seriously.
Wong cited a statement by former navy LCS project team head Rear Admiral Mohd Shaiful, who said the equipment BNS purchased could not be fixed to the ship because the ship was not constructed yet, eventually leading to the warranty expiring:
Wong also quoted former defence ministry secretary-general Datuk Muez Abd Aziz, who raised concerns about obsolete BNS equipment being left behind due to technological advances and more costs being needed to extend its warranties:
Similarly, former defence minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi raised concerns about the ship’s 2009 technology being obsolete if it was only ready in 2025:
Wong said these main witnesses for the LCS project would not have raised the issues of obsolete equipment and warranty if they were not important.
“Their testimonies… also contradict BNS’s latest stand on the matter,” he added.
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 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.
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 14, 2022
Main photo credit: Defence Security Asia
