Zahid fears explaining LCS fiasco could expose national defence secrets

 

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi believes the authorities and government should give a more thorough explanation of the littoral combat ship (LCS) project to clear up any public confusion on the matter.

However, he also expressed concerns that such clarifications could end up exposing national defence secrets.

The LCS project is a RM9 billion contract to procure six ships for the navy, which was initiated in 2011, but with zero results to date. 

Taking to Facebook today, Zahid (above) - who was defence minister when the LCS procurement was in its early stages - said there was a blame game going on after the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) exposed failures and shortcomings in the project.

He said public reaction on the matter has also caused confusion as facts and falsehoods became intermingled.

Hence, he said there was a need for the government to set the record straight, especially on how the Pakatan Harapan government tried to stop the project.

‘PAC needs to be more sensitive’

Another issue that needed clarification, he said, was on the decision to go with the Sigma or Gowind designs for the LCS.

“However, there is a concern that such clarifications on aspects of national security could reveal our defence secrets,” he said.

But he said the government should also be more transparent on the matter while handling the matter wisely so that the issue is not overtaken by the “netizen court”.

He also chastised the PAC, urging them to be more sensitive when investigating defence matters.

Earlier on Saturday, the Umno president denied any responsibility for the fiasco, saying the project was awarded after his tenure as defence minister ended in 2013.

This is despite the letter of award being issued in 2011, which was attested to by the prime minister at the time, Najib Abdul Razak.

The PAC had also revealed that Zahid had in 2011 agreed to adopt the Gowind design for the LCS project, going against the navy’s wishes to use the Sigma design.

Meanwhile, in a joint statement today, Harapan’s former defence minister Mohamad Sabu and his former deputy Liew Chin Tong called for three important documents on the LCS project to be declassified.

The documents are the findings of the special committee headed by former auditor-general Ambrin Buang; the results of a forensic audit by the LCS project’s main contractor Boustead Naval Shipyards (BNS); and protest letters written by Abdul Aziz Jaafar, who served as navy chief from 2008 to 2019.

While in office, Aziz had written 10 protest letters, including five to Zahid, voicing grievances over the direction of the LCS project.

“Without declassifying these documents, many questions will remain unanswered,” Mohamad and Liew said. - Mkini