KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 – Attorney-General Idrus Harun should review the redacted sections in the two reports on the RM9 billion Littoral Combatant Ship (LCS) scandal declassified by the Cabinet, so that the public can view the information or he should give reasons for the redactions, says Member of Parliament for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang.
The two reports – the Ambrin Report of the Special Investigation Committee on Public Governance, Procurement and Finance the LCS (JKUSTUPKK) and the report of the forensic audit of the LCS procurement (2011-2014) carried out by Alliance IFA (M) Sdn Bhd – were declassified by the Cabinet on Aug 17 and Aug 22 respectively following a call made by the Public Accounts Committee, which first highlighted the LCS scandal in its report.
Kit Siang in a statement today said declassifying the reports in full will illustrate that the Government is now acting in according with the norms of good governance and not acting arbitrarily, which is the cause of the latest scandal in the country – the RM9 billion LCS scandal,
He also called on Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein,to present a Ministerial Statement to Parliament when it reconvenes on Oct. 3 to explain how the Defence Ministry had implemented the recommendations of these two reports on the RM9 billion LCS scandal.
“Although the two reports had been severely redacted, a reading of the two reports will show that the Najib Government, which must assume full responsibility for the largest defence procurement scandal in the history of Malaysia, had been serious remiss in its duty to safeguard the interests of both servicemen and ex-servicemen and that of the nation.
“We should have five LCS in the Royal Malaysian Navy to safeguard the security and safety of the nation but because of the RM9 billion LCS scandal, Malaysia had been left naked..
“Even with the redactions, a reading of the sub-headings of the reports will point to the conclusion that there had been gross abuses of power and breaches of trust.”
He pointed out several subheadings of the forensic audit report on the LCS scandal as indications for the power abuses, namely Delegation of Authority to the MD and Misuse of Power, Protecting the interest of CAD at the cost of BNS, Anomalies detected in the Payment Milestones for the said LOAs, LOA in favour of IHC Metalix BV and their selection process, Some of the Major Red Flags Ignored, Important Elements Indicating Purposeful Mismanagement, and An Attempt to Cover Up.
“Can Hishammuddin explain why no one had been held responsible for the RM9 billion LCS scandal although the forensic audit report was completed in July 2020 while the Ambrin report was completed in August 2019?”
–WE