IF THERE is any person who must bear responsibility for the RM9 bil littoral combatant ships (LCS) scandal, that person must be then defence minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and no one else.
Zahid was foolish to deny responsibility.
He said it was unreasonable to pin the failure of the LCS procurement on him as he claimed he was not the defence minister when the project was awarded.
As such, he said those who were involved in the failure of the LCS procurement should explain themselves to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Zahid was as good as lying when he denied responsibility for the LCS scandal, as the procurement of the six LCS was approved in early 2011 following a request made by the Royal Malaysian Navy.
This was why Zahid was called by the PAC on Oct 25, 2021, to explain the decision, and not the minister of defence in 2014 (Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein).
On May 26, 2011, Zahid approved six LCS, which were Sigma in design as recommended by the Navy.
However, on July 11, 2011, he agreed with the contractor, Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS), to change the Sigma design to the Gowind design – without consulting or getting the agreement of the navy.
Can Zahid explain why?
“No one would have known about it”
If not for the 14th General Election (GE14), which toppled the UMNO Government in 2018, the LCS scandal would have been kept under wraps and Malaysians would not know about it.
As a result of the toppling of UMNO’s political hegemony, a parliamentary reform was enacted, where an opposition MP became chair of the PAC.
That is why Ipoh Timor MP Wong Kah Woh PAC chairman when the Pakatan Harapan Government was illegally, undemocratically and unconstitutionally toppled in the Sheraton Move conspiracy in February 2020.
If an UMNO MP had been PAC chairman, the LCS scandal would remain hidden.
This was what happened in the 13th Parliament when the then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak used Parliament to hide the 1MDB scandal.
Najib had tried to use 1MDB monies to topple the DAP-PKR state Government in Penang during the 13th General Elections (GE13) in 2013, in which fugitive financier Low Taek Jho (or Jho Low) played a strategic role in that failed attempt.
It was fortunate that GE14 in 2018 ended the political hegemony of UMNO, which allowed the 1MDB scandal to be finally exposed.
UMNO is trying to return to power during the 15th General Election (GE15), to be held this year or next year, so its leaders can again cover up the 1MDB scandal and allow more scandals like the LCS scandal to take place.
This is why no UMNO, MCA or MIC leader had condemned the 1MDB scandal, although it has been almost a decade since the scandal started. – Aug 7, 2022
Lim Kit Siang is the Iskandar Puteri MP, DAP supremo and a veteran lawmaker.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main photo credit: Utusan
