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Saturday, February 12, 2011

Tony Pua scoffs at MACC’s response to his OPV inquiries


February 12, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 — DAP’s Tony Pua ridiculed today the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)’s claim that it needed a report from him to investigate the Ministry of Defence RM6 billion purchase of offshore patrol vessels.

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP had earlier questioned the ministry’s mega purchase and if MACC is looking into the issue.

Yesterday, Bernama quoted an unnamed source from the commission claiming that “the commission cannot carry out an investigation based on wild allegations”, insinuating that the issue which he had raised in the past week was baseless and frivolous.

The report added that “if the Petaling Jaya Utara MP did not come forward, the source said, the commission would try to get in touch with him to get valid facts to start investigations”.

“When the Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zahid Hamidi announced the purchase of 6 naval patrol vessels (OPVs) for RM6 billion ringgit without accompanying details, what I asked was what exactly was the Navy acquiring in terms of the exact type of OPV,” Pua said.

He emphasised that he did not accuse the ministry of purchasing low-end OPVs at for RM1 billion each, and had merely requested the ministry to justify its purchase by giving detailed specifications on the type of OPVs which was being acquired, since the original Minister’s statement as reported also by Bernama did not carry details, he claimed.

“Hence, the call by MACC for me to file a report with them is irrelevant and the need does not arise at this point of time.

“Secondly, MACC’s claim that it is unable to do anything without a report from me is even more ridiculous. Should MACC require clarifications on the details and cost of the ships, they have the power to summon the relevant officials with the information, which I’m powerless to do,” he mocked.

Pua (picture) said, as a Member of Parliament, he can only ask the questions when the need arises to check on the various government agencies.

“Similarly, it would have been MACC’s proactive responsibility to at the very least conduct preliminary inquiries on the very substantial RM6 billion OPVs purchase which didn’t come with details when it was first announced, and not have to wait for an MP to raise the questions,” he pointed out.

He took a step further saying that MACC’s lack of action, is disappointing and is “clearly a factor in the decline” in the Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index for Malaysia, that the government is losing the fight against corruption.

Pua added that not every inquiry investigated will lead to a genuine abuse or corruption case but MACC has “failed to even monitor developments” in mega-government acquisitions in the billions of ringgit marks its failure as the agency to fight against corruption in the country.

“Instead by attempting to shift its responsibility to an MP who is raising very relevant questions on the RM6 billion acquisition is makes a mockery on the commitment and competence of MACC,” he said.

The Royal Malaysian Navy had denied opposition claims that the RM6 billion price tag for six offshore patrol vessels (OPV) was costlier than for comparable crafts, saying other nations did not provide full costs for such purchases. Pua had claimed earlier that the RM6 billion contract for the six locally-made OPVs was between 26 and 870 per cent more expensive than for those manufactured overseas.

Navy Chief Admiral Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar however said that the Petaling Jaya Utara MP had likely been unable to differentiate between littoral combat ships (LCS) and regular OPVs, which could have caused the lawmaker to arrive at the now-disputed calculations.

Abdul Aziz explained that the LCS were modern, contemporary and necessary for the country’s security and interests.

He has also said that the advanced equipment and technology used to equip the LCS were the main reasons behind its high costs.

Pua had cited examples where lower end OPVs could be purchased at costs significantly lower such as the Irish Roisin class (US$34m) or what was recently acquired by New Zealand for NZ$90 million (RM210m).

Similarly, he had also cited the example of the US Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) which will cost substantially more at US$300 million.

The government recently announced it will allocate RM6 billion to procure the OPVs, of which RM2 billion will go towards giving a boost to 632 local vendors.

The move, however, has been met with scepticism and concern over Malaysia’s defence strategy and spending.

While most observers agree that the navy needs beefing up, the lack of a defence blueprint has caused some to question the move to acquire another six OPVs at the quoted price.

The deal was struck with government-linked BNS, who had taken over the delivery of a first batch of six OPVs by merging with Penang Shipbuilding and Construction Industries (PCSI) which had run into financial trouble and delayed delivery of the ships.

The cost of the original six ships had increased from RM4.9 billion to RM6.75 billion as PCSI failed to meet the initial terms of the contract.

The new order for more advanced second-generation patrol vessels continues from a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) signed in 1998 between the government and PCS-ND parent company, PCSI to build 27 OPVs for RM24 billion over 10 years, as and when orders are made. - Malaysian Insider

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