LCS committee hearing: PAC decries 'leak' by witness, press

 

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has objected to an article which purportedly cited a witness who testified before an ongoing committee hearing on the littoral combat ship (LCS) project.

In a statement today, PAC chairperson Mas Ermieyati Samsudin said the Utusan Malaysia article titled "Kurangkan kapal LCS jimat kos - Saksi" (Reducing number of LCS saves costs - witness) published today was in violation of Standing Order 85.

This parliamentary rule prevented testimonies and evidence to be published before the committee completes its report to the Dewan Rakyat.

"I deeply regret this article because it clearly disrupts our investigations, conclusions, and recommendations from our proceedings," she said.

Mas Ermieyati said she had written to the Dewan Rakyat speaker on the violation of Standing Order 85 to seek further guidance.

In view of this, Mas Ermieyati urged witnesses and the press to respect the proceedings and seek comments from the committee when reporting on related matters.

She added that the PAC will hold press conferences every Thursday when the Dewan Rakyat is in session to update the public on their activities.

The Utusan article cited an anonymous source claiming to shed details on what three witnesses told PAC during a hearing on Saturday.

PAC will table a report later this year with details of the progress of the long-stalled LCS project.

Boustead Naval Shipyard (BNS) was supposed to deliver the first of six LCS in 2019. However, none has been delivered so far.

In 2022, PAC released its first report on the project, detailing how the project did not fit Navy specifications and experienced cost overruns.

However, the Anwar Ibrahim administration's solution to the problem was to nationalise BNS and cut the number of LCS to five.

BNS now has to report the progress of the project to PAC quarterly. - Mkini