Commission awaits report from Tony Pua
(Bernama) — The Anti-Corruption Commission is awaiting a report from opposition MP Tony Pua on his allegation that the Malaysian government is to buy six Littoral Combat Ships at a cost far higher than other countries had paid for similar vessels.
“We require clear and basic facts to investigate any allegation, including from Tony Pua,” a commission source said, commenting on the claim the DAP MP made on his website that the RM6 billion approved by the government was 870 per cent more than other countries had paid for such ships.
The source said the commission would welcome Pua coming forward with facts supporting his allegation so that an investigation can be carried out.
“The commission cannot carry out an investigation based on wild allegations,” he said, adding that probing without facts would be like “looking for a needle in a field of grass”.
If the Petaling Jaya Utara MP did not come forward, the source said, the commission would try to get in touch with him to get “valid facts” to start investigations.
Earlier, Bayan Baru MP Datuk Seri Zahrain Mohamed Hashim was reported to have challenged Pua to report to the commission all the facts he had on the purchase of the LCS instead of “making a lot of noise about it in an irresponsible way on the Internet”.
Zahrain said that Pua, as a political leader, should be more responsible in making an allegation and base it on concrete facts.
Navy chief Admiral Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar said the LCS to be built by the Malaysian company Boustead Naval Shipyard in collaboration with six leading foregn shipyards would be far superior to the offshore patrol ships that RMN now used.
And the cost of the material for building the ships had risen, he said.
“The RM6 billion covers everything, including the cost of very sophisticated armament, high capacity sensory equipment and radar, and sonar that can detect enemy submarines,” Abdul Aziz said.
“The country”s defence industry is developing and depends a lot on foreign expertise. This is the main reason that the cost of a ship is so high,” he added.
