If there is any person who must bear responsibility for the RM9 billion LCS scandal, that person must be Zahid who was Defence Minister at the time, and no one else
If there is any person who must bear responsibility for the RM9 billion Littoral Combatant Ship (LCS) scandal, that person must be Zahid Hamidi, who was Defence Minister at the time and no one else.
Zahid was foolish to deny that he is responsible for the RM9 billion LCS scandal.
He said it was unreasonable to pin the failure of the littoral combat ships (LCS) procurement on him as he claimed he was not the defence minister when the project was awarded.
As such, he said those who were involved in the failure of the LCS procurement should explain to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
He said: “I held the defence minister position from April 2009 to May 2013.
“So any party who caused the delay in the construction should be responsible for providing an explanation to the PAC.
Zahid was as good as lying when he denied responsibility for the LCS scandal, as the procurement of six LCS was approved in early 2011 following a request made by the navy.
This was why Zahid was called by the Public Accounts Committee on 25th Oct. 2021 to explain the decision, and not the Minister of defence in 2014.
On 26th May 2011, Zahid approved six LCS which were Sigma in design as recommended by the Navy, but on 11th July 2011, he agreed with the contractor Boustead Naval Shipyard to change the Sigma LCS to GOWIND LCS without consulting or the agreement of the Navy. Can Zahid explain why?
If not for the 14th General Election which toppled the UMNO government and hegemony in 2018, the RM9 billion LCS scandal would have been kept under wraps and Malaysians would not know about it.
As a result of the toppling of UMNO hegemony, the first parliamentary reform was enacted where the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was an Opposition MP – and that is why the Ipoh Timor MP, Wong Kah Woh became the PAC Chairman when the Pakatan Harapan Government was illegally, undemocratically and unconstitutionally toppled in the Sheraton Move conspiracy in Feb. 2020.
If an UMNO MP had been PAC Chairman, the RM9 billion LCS scandal would remain hidden.
This was what happened in the 13th Parliament, when the then Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak used Parliament to hide the 1MDB scandal.
Najib had tried to use 1MDB monies to topple DAP/PKR state government in Penang in the 13th General Election in 2013, and Jho Low played a strategic role in that failed attempt.
It was fortunate that the 14th General Election in 2018 ended the political hegemony of UMNO, which allowed the 1MDB scandal to be finally exposed.
In the 15th General Election this year or next, UMNO is trying to return to power where its leaders can again cover up the 1MDB scandal and allow more scandals like the RM9 billion LCS scandal to take place.
This is why no UMNO, MCA or MIC leader had condemned the 1MDB scandal although it is close to a decade of the 1MDB scandal.
The people of Kluang must continue to play a leadership role in Johore and Malaysia to lead the country to a better future.