After LCS fiasco, Muhyiddin asks if voters can trust Zahid-led BN

Perikatan Nasional (PN) chief Muhyiddin Yassin is the latest to seize on the littoral combat ship (LCS) issue to swipe at his rival and BN counterpart Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Citing Zahid's involvement in the scandal, Muhyiddin asked if voters could trust BN in the next general election.

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 despite about RM6 billion having been paid.

Among the problems highlighted by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC)'s report on the scandal was that Zahid, as defence minister then, had changed the LCS vessel design against the navy's wishes.

Then navy chief Abdul Aziz Jaafar wrote 10 protest letters on the matter, including five to Zahid - who was defence minister from 2009 to 2013.

"However these protests were ignored by the defence minister," Muhyiddin (above) said in a statement on Facebook today.

"This is the BN leader who will lead the (coalition) in the 15th general election.

"If this is the case, can Malaysians trust BN's mantras in the next GE?" he added.

Zahid has denied any wrongdoing in the LCS fiasco, saying the contract was only awarded after his tenure in the Defence Ministry.

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.

Zahid, who is Umno president, wants the government to clear the air on the matter, but at the same time expressed concerns that doing so may jeopardise national security.

Muhyiddin, however, wants the government to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate the project.

In his post, the Bersatu president also promoted PN - touting the coalition as an anti-corruption champion and defender of all races.

Speculation is rife on whether PN will pull support from the current BN-led government.

This is allegedly over unhappiness that an agreement they had with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob for the coalition to be given the deputy prime minister post has gone unfulfilled.

The government will collapse if PN withdraws support, paving the way for a general election unless Ismail Sabri finds new backers to make up the numbers in Parliament. - Mkini