Lcs Report To Be Declassified Pm Vows Transparent Probe

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The cabinet has proposed that the report of a forensic audit on the government’s procurement of six Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) for the navy be declassified.
In a statement today, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the government guarantees a transparent investigation will be carried out.
"Today's cabinet meeting decided that a report (on LCS) prepared by the Committee on Procurement, Governance, and Finance chaired by former auditor-general Ambrin Buang is to be opened for public consumption.
"The cabinet also proposed that the report from a forensic audit on the LCS project, which was carried out in 2019, be declassified.
"However, this process must first be advised by the attorney-general and auditor-general," he said.
The prime minister stressed that those responsible for the LCS scandal will not be spared.
According to him, the MACC has also been urged to speed up its investigation into the matter and, should it find solid evidence, the attorney-general will be required to drag all those responsible to court to face the music.
"The government will not protect those responsible (for the scandal)," Ismail Sabri added.
He said he also summoned Attorney-General Idrus Harun and MACC chief Azam Baki after the cabinet meeting today and ordered them to take immediate action as per the cabinet’s decision.
RM6b spent, 2019 deadline missed
The LCS project has come under public scrutiny after the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) released its report revealing many issues with it.
Firstly, the government has paid RM6.083 billion since 2013 but no ship has been delivered. The first ship was supposed to arrive in 2019.
The PAC report also raised the contention that the government ignored the navy's design requirements and instead followed recommendations by the contractor - Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd - to use a different ship design.
The then navy chief Abdul Aziz Jaafar wrote 10 letters to protest against the design switch - five going to then defence minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and two to then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak - to no avail.
Other key findings of the PAC are as follows:
The due diligence exercise failed to detect financial problems faced by the project’s main contractors.
Contract terms did not side with the government.
The detailed design for the project has yet to be finalised.
Cost overruns have reached RM1.4 billion.

- Mkini

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