New PAC wants open proceedings, to visit LCS

 

Newly minted Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairperson Mas Ermieyati Samsuddin and the deputy chairperson Wong Shu Qi have called for amendments to the Standing Orders to allow the committee’s proceedings to be held openly.

“We will request the Dewan Rakyat speaker to amend Standing Order 85, as it does not allow PAC meeting proceedings to be held openly.

“We believe that the PAC proceedings should be held openly to ensure they are held in a transparent manner with accountability and credibility, in line with the institutional reform agenda which has become the government’s main focus right now,” Mas Ermieyati and Wong said in a statement today.

Aside from that, the two said their first order of business would be to hold a working visit to Boustead Heavy Industries Corp in Lumut, Perak to find out the latest development of the Royal Malaysian Navy’s littoral combat ships (LCS).

The progress of the project is supposed to be reported every three months to the PAC, they added.

The multi-billion-ringgit project came under public scrutiny last year when the PAC revealed that Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS) was building six ships based on a design that was not requested by the navy.

Newly minted PAC chairperson Mas Ermieyati Samsuddin and her deputy Wong Shu Qi

It was also concluded that the then defence minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had greenlit BNS’ suggestion to switch the LCS’ design despite the navy’s repeated protests.

BNS also owed more than 600 suppliers money for the LCS project, according to the PAC’s investigation.

BNS is the main contractor of the LCS project and was awarded the contract in 2013.

It was supposed to have delivered five LCS by July last year, yet none has been delivered to date. The first delivery was scheduled for April 2019 but the PAC noted that the ship was only 44 percent complete.

Mas Ermieyati and Wong also plan to meet with PAC ex-officio members from the Finance Ministry, Economy Ministry, Attorney-General’s Department, Public Service Department, National Audit Department, National Accountant Department and the MACC to discuss the direction and other matters related to the PAC.

Meanwhile, the two also urged the Selection Committee of Parliament to appoint 12 other PAC members as soon as possible so that they can start on their duties of reviewing public accounts and ensuring public funds are spent efficiently.

They suggested that the PAC members consist of eight government lawmakers and four from the opposition.

Mas Ermieyati and Wong were both appointed this morning after a unanimous voice vote in the Dewan Rakyat. - Mkini