Govt declassifies governance panel’s report on LCS project

(FMT) – The governance, procurement and finance investigation committee’s report on the littoral combat ship (LCS) project has been declassified.

In a Facebook post, Public Accounts Committee chairman Wong Kah Woh said the PAC has received a copy of the report and will upload it to the PAC’s portal to allow public access.

However, several parts of the report have been erased.

Wong attached a letter dated today from senior deputy secretary-general in the Prime Minister’s Department, Sollehuddin Alyubi Zakaria, to the PAC secretariat informing the PAC that the report has been declassified.

“However, paragraph 2.39.1, 2.39.2, 2.39.4, Schedule 9, Schedule 10, Schedule 11 and Schedule 18 have been erased upon the advice of the Attorney-General’s Chambers,” said Sollehuddin.

He did not provide any reason as to why those parts of the report were erased.

Wong previously expressed concern that parts of the report would be redacted when Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Aug 10 that the Cabinet had agreed to declassify the report and a separate forensic report on the issue.

The release of these reports were among the PAC’s recommendations in its own report into the LCS project released two weeks ago.

On Aug 4, the PAC disclosed that the government had paid RM6.08 billion for five ships to be delivered by August this year, but not a single one of them had been delivered.

Yesterday, defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein said he would present a proposal to establish a royal commission of inquiry to investigate the LCS project at today’s Cabinet meeting.