TI-M: Cut payments to LCS contractor

 

The Malaysian chapter of Transparency International (TI-M) has urged the government to temporarily cease further payments for the littoral combat ship (LCS) project.

In a statement, TI-M said payments should stop until the delivery of ships has met the contract specifications and commensurates with the RM6.083 billion that has been paid to date.

Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS) was supposed to have delivered five LCS by this month. None has been delivered. The first delivery was scheduled for April 2019.

TI-M also recommended that the government investigate all contractors and sub-contractors involved in the project, along with civil servants found negligent in discharging their duties in relation to the project.

"(We recommend) that the government institute criminal proceedings against any person who is suspected to have committed offences under the various laws in Malaysia, notably bribery, corruption and abuse of position under the MACC Act 1998," it said.

TI-M was commenting on the findings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which concluded that BNS was building six ships based on a design that was not requested by the navy.

It was also concluded that then defence minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had greenlit BNS' suggestion to switch the LCS design despite the navy's repeated protest.

Former defence minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi

Apart from delays, the PAC uncovered that BNS still owed more than 600 suppliers money for the LCS project.

What happened to good governance?

TI-M said it was perplexed over how the LCS project could be plagued with problems when there are numerous governance and audit structures within the public sector to instil good governance and prevent corruption.

Among others, TI-M cited the various integrity units, internal and external audit units, integrity committees at ministerial levels, the National Anti-Corruption Committee headed by the chief secretary to the government and the Special Cabinet Committee on Anti-Corruption headed by the prime minister.

"With all this in place, how could the LCS project which started in 2013 be allowed to become a colossal procurement and governance failure for so long?

"How could they collectively have missed all the red flags? Where is the oversight, governance and accountability?

"Or has it become conveniently invisible, just like the ships that were supposed to be delivered," it added. - Mkini