Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said it was unreasonable to pin the failure of the littoral combat ships’ (LCS) procurement on him as he claimed he was not the defence minister when the project was awarded.
As such, he said those who were involved in the failure of the LCS procurement should explain to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
“I held the defence minister position from April 2009 to May 2013.
“So any party who caused the delay in the construction should be responsible for providing an explanation to the PAC.
“(This is to) fully support the revelation of the delay,” he said, as reported by Umno Online yesterday.
The procurement of six LCS was approved by Putrajaya in early 2011 following a request made by the navy.
In late 2011, the RM9 billion contract was awarded to Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd without an open tender being called.
The contract took effect on Oct 3, 2013, and would expire on Oct 2 next year.
Zahid also explained that the ships were being built by Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS), which is a subsidiary of Boustead Holdings Bhd, whose biggest shareholder is Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT)
“Based on the audit report from PAC, the contract given to Boustead is in accordance with the direct negotiation procurement application guidelines dated April 17, 2002.
“Clearly, it has nothing to do with me. In fact, LTAT itself is the largest shareholder in the company constructing the LCS,” he said.
Zahid added that he was ready to provide a statement and explanation to the PAC.
On Aug 4, PAC chairperson Wong Kah Woh issued a statement on the committee’s findings, which examined the handling of the LCS project.
The report revealed that although not a single ship had been completed, Putrajaya had already paid RM6 billion.
The first LCS was supposed to be delivered in 2019 but is only 44 percent completed, according to the PAC report.
The report also said the navy’s view was ignored by the Defence Ministry and Boustead.
PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli earlier claimed that an internal investigation also showed that at least RM890 million had been misappropriated from the project due to fraud, duplication of contracts, and various other irregularities. - Mkini
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