Zahid should not deny the undeniable and should explain why as Defence Minister in July 2011, he overturned the decision as recommended by the Navy to contract the six Dutch-made Sigma LCS and chose the Scorpene manufacturer’s six French-made Gowind LCS within three days without consulting the Navy, the end-user?
UMNO President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi should not deny the undeniable but should explain why as Defence Minister in July 2011, he overturned the decision as recommended by the Navy to contract six Dutch-made Sigma Littoral Combatant Shiupt (LCS) and chose the Scorpene manufacturer’s six French-made Gowind LCS within three days without consulting the Navy, the end-user.
It is as clear as daylight that Zahid is responsible for the RM9 billion LCS scandal, and he should explain instead why he took three days on July 11, 2011 to overturn the Ministry of Defence decision of May 26, 2011 to contract the Sigma LCS and to go instead for the Gowind LCS, without first referring the matter to the Navy.
In fact, the RM9 billion LCS was so contractor-centric instead of end user-driven, that the Navy never knew that the decision had been overturned.
Zahid denied any involvement in the financial improprieties regarding the LCS project, saying that he was not the defence minister at the time the project was awarded.
He said any party that caused the construction delay should be responsible for providing an explanation to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Zahid was Defence Minister from April 2009 to May 2013 and the new Defence Minister after Zahid was Hishammuddin Hussein after the 2013 General Election.
Is Zahid saying that Hishammuddin and not him who must be responsible for the RM9 billion LCS scandal?
But Zahid is dead wrong as approval for the RM9 billion LCS project was given approval as far back as in 2011 when he was Defence Minister.
Zahid should explain why there was such inordinate delay in the LCS project that the LCS contract was not signed until 2014 when there was a new Defence Minister.
If Zahid is not responsible for the RM9 billion LCS scandal, why did he appear before the PAC on 25th October 2021 and said that the decision to change the Sigma LCS to Gowind LCS was the choice of the contractor and not that of the Defence Minister?
Didn’t Zahid as the Defence Minister the elementary duty to refer the issue back to the Navy as the end-user, instead of acceding to the contractor’s request to change the Sigtma LCS to Gowind LCS within three short days?
No wonder the then head of Navy, Admiral Abdul Aziz Jaafar said in one of his 10 letters of protest – five to the Defence Minister and two to the Prime Minister – that “there is no precedent of the design being decided by the main contractor and not the end-user”.
Abdul Aziz said “something was gravely wrong” as the navy and not the contractor should be setting the terms of the LCS contract but the Navy was “fighting a losing battle”.
Did the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigate Zahid on his three-day change of decision from Sigma LCS to Gowind LCS in 2011?
The MACC Chief Commissioner Azam Baki said the MACC will soon announce its findings of its investigations into the RM9 billion LCS scandal as its investigations was in the final stages.
Can Azam Baki explain why the MACC had not been able to take action although the RM9 billion LCS scandal is now 11 years old?
When did the MACC start its investigations into the RM9 billion LCS scandal?
This is one of the greatest failures of the MACC in its history to fight corruption.
In fact, if not for the “political miracle” of the 2018 general election which toppled a seemingly invincible Barisan Nassional and ended UMNO’s political hegemony, the RM9 billion LCS scandal would been hidden, just as the 13th Parliament was abused by the then Prime Minister, Najib Razak, to hide the mega 1MDB financial scandal.
Is this the reason why no UMNO, MCA or MIC leader had ever condemned the RM50 billion 1MDB scandal or the RM9 billion LCS scandal?
There are other financial scandals of a kleptocratic Malaysia during the days of UMNO hegemony to be exposed. Will all this expose stop with the return of UMNO to power in the 15th General Election?