Come clean on LCS issue, TI-M tells govt

(The Star) – The government should be transparent in explaining what went wrong with the littoral combat ship (LCS) project and declassify the Procurement and Finance investigation report done under then auditor-general Tan Sri Ambrin Buang, says Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M).

Its president Dr Muhammad Mohan (pic) said the government should not hide behind the Official Secrets Act or cite matters of national security if corruption and abuse of power were detected.

He was referring to the recent announcement that the Finance Ministry has set up a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) to take over Boustead Naval Shipyard (BNS), the company which was contracted in 2011 to build and deliver six LCS for the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN).

“TI-M understands the rationale behind the Prime Minister’s decision was that it was because RM6.083bil of taxpayers’ money has already been paid.

“However BNS has abysmal results in delivering, as the first vessel was supposed to be delivered in 2019, but not a single ship was delivered.

“The project has increased from RM9bil to RM11.2bil and RMN will only be getting five LCS instead of six,” he said in a statement on Monday (May 29).

Muhammad Mohan said Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has repeatedly stated his firm commitment to fighting corruption and improving governance and integrity practices in the public sector.

“While it is important in ensuring the LCS project is not abandoned, it is vital that those responsible for the problematic project are held accountable for their actions,” he added.