PETALING JAYA: The littoral combat ships (LCS) scandal proves that the military procurement process must be drastically reformed, says a political economist.
Edmund Terence Gomez said the current system for arms procurement is non-transparent and allows for the abuse of funds.
“This system allows for massive projects, like the LCS, to be awarded through direct negotiation with no disclosure required as the process is shielded by the Official Secrets Act,” he told FMT.
“With no public scrutiny, contracts are given at inflated prices, which then allows money to be siphoned off and used for other purposes, such as paying debts.”
Gomez was responding to recent revelations that a portion of the LCS fund was used to settle the debts of the previous New Generation Patrol Vessel, as stated by the armed forces pension fund (LTAT) chief executive Ahmad Nazim Abdul Rahman.
This was affirmed by Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd chief executive Azhar Jumaat. In testimony to the Public Accounts Committee, Azhar said RM400 million was used to settle the debts of the patrol vessel project.
Gomez expressed concerns over the number of high profile scandals involving massive sums of money that had surfaced in the country, describing it as a “governance issue”.
“We have to dismantle the procurement system immediately,” he said. “A wholesale investigation is needed to bring about reforms to clean up the system and make it transparent.”
Retired army brigadier-general Arshad Raji said it was wrong to use money intended for the LCS project for other purposes. “How can the money for the project be diverted to something else? It’s not right and shouldn’t be this way,” he said.
The LCS project has come under scrutiny after the Public Accounts Committee criticised the delays in the project. The first ship, launched in 2017, had been due for completion in 2019 and five others in stages until this month. However, none have been completed or delivered. - FMT
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