PARLIAMENT | An opposition lawmaker has backed Defence Minister Khaled Nordin’s leadership, amid a spate of corruption and power abuse cases involving the armed forces.
Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz (PN-Tanah Merah), who is known to be vocal on his grievances regarding issues perceived to be plaguing the Defence Ministry, issued a rare praise to the minister while debating the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s royal address in Parliament today.
Referencing the court charges against former army chief Hafizuddeain Jantan and former armed forces chief Nizam Jaffar, Ikmal (above) shared his belief that Khaled will be able to address pressing concerns linked with the defence establishment.
“I would also like to express my confidence and trust in the capability of the defence minister to resolve (such issues).
“It is truly unfortunate that he is leading the Defence Ministry during such a difficult and challenging period.
“I believe in and fully support the actions taken by the defence minister since early January, when the crisis within the armed forces occurred. So far, in my view, the defence minister has done a good job,” Ikmal said.
However, he added that the situation has provided the chance for the ministry and Putrajaya to improve the governance and management of defence procurements within the force.
As such, Ikmal urged Khaled to seize the opportunity by implementing a “proper overhaul” of the Defence Ministry, stressing that such efforts should not be done half-heartedly.
Restoring rakyat’s trust
Yesterday, Khaled acknowledged that efforts to weed out and prosecute corrupt members of its defence forces must be accompanied by long-term measures, affirming that the government is prioritising moves to restore the rakyat’s trust in the armed forces.
“Identifying and prosecuting those involved (in alleged misdeeds) is far from sufficient. It will in no way render the ministry pure and clean.
“God willing, it will not stop there. The Defence Ministry will continue to explore further initiatives and opportunities to strengthen the credibility of the ministry and the armed forces,” the minister said during a ministerial briefing session in the Dewan Rakyat.
The session came following a series of allegations accusing the defence forces of misdeeds, including financial misappropriation and graft.
On Jan 23, Hafizuddeain, who was initially slated to be the next armed forces chief, claimed trial to two counts of receiving proceeds of unlawful activities amounting to RM145,000 at the Shah Alam Sessions Court.
The day before, at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court, he was charged with four counts of receiving over RM2.12 million in proceeds from unlawful activities.
In the same week, Nizam was also charged with four counts of abusing his position and receiving RM752,481.90, as well as criminal breach of trust involving RM3 million.
What happened to LCS probe?
Ikmal also reiterated concerns over a perceived lack of action against those involved in the contentious multi-billion-ringgit littoral combat ships (LCS) project, which is said to have involved a misuse of public funds and various other mismanagement problems.
Highlighting how the cost of the project had ballooned to RM11.2 billion from RM9.13 billion while the deliverables were reduced from six ships to five, the Bersatu MP took issue with how the original company awarded the contract was not subjected to liquidated ascertained damages.
Labelling the situation as “extremely strange and baffling,” he warned that continued inaction against those implicated in the LCS controversy has led to perceptions of double standards, pointing to the charges against Hafizuddeain and Nizam.
“There appears to be a double standard within enforcement agencies when it comes to prosecuting only certain individuals in cases involving the misappropriation of defence assets.
“The effect of this double standard is the potentially high level of public distrust towards the transparency of the MACC and government in investigating and taking action against individuals involved in the misappropriation of defence procurement assets,” Ikmal added.
In March last year, the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) to former Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS) managing director Ahmad Ramli Nor.
Ramli was initially charged in August 2022 with three counts of criminal breach of trust involving RM21.08 million related to the navy’s LCS project.
The DNAA came after the former navy commander’s lawyer informed the court that a psychiatrist from the Kuala Lumpur Hospital found Ramli unfit to stand trial due to his mental condition.
Ramli, along with BNS’ LCS programme director Anuar Murad, had both been repeatedly mentioned in the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) 247-page report on the project.
The report, released in August 2022, featured two sub-chapters solely dedicated to Anuar and Ramli, detailing their involvement in the alleged scandal, with the former being named 23 times, while the latter’s name crops up on 14 occasions. - Mkini
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