Parliament, Cabinet want LCS project to continue, says Hisham

 

Hishammuddin Hussein says discussions with his French counterpart on the procurement of littoral combat ships are still ongoing. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Parliament and the Cabinet have all agreed to proceed with the littoral combat ship (LCS) procurement project.

Defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein said, however, the method under which the project would continue would be announced after the Cabinet reached a final decision.

He said the most important matter in the LCS issue was that the planned ships needed to be handed to the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN).

“Second, it is to ensure that the companies involved, including stakeholders, are compensated, especially the vendors, who include many armed forces veterans,” he said in a media conference at the Defence Services Asia and National Security Asia 2022 exhibition here today.

Hishammuddin said that if the LCS issue was not resolved, it might affect the Armed Forces Fund Board’s (LTAT) financial standing, which would then impact its contributors, who comprise retired armed forces personnel.

He also said his discussions with French defence minister Florence Parliy on the LCS procurement are still ongoing.

The LCS programme is part of RMN’s development plan to strengthen the country’s naval assets. All six ships in the programme are based on the Gowind design by the French company, Naval Group (formerly known as DCNS).

On the purchase of F/A-18D (Hornet) fighter jets from Kuwait, Hishammuddin said Malaysia is looking at Kuwait’s decommissioning process.

“That is still in place, but it involves bilateral relations between Malaysia and Kuwait. God willing, it will happen, and it would add value to our immediate plans,” he added.

It was previously reported that the Royal Malaysian Air Force is in the process of procuring a number of fighter jets from Kuwait. - FMT