Support for BERSATU call for a RCI into the RM9 billion six Littoral Combatant Ships (LCS) scandal
I support the Bersatu call for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the RM9 billion six Littoral Combatant Ship (LCS) scandal.
Bersatu has got nine Ministers in the 32-member Ismail Sabri Cabinet.
Will anyone of them propose in the next Cabinet the setting up of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the RM 9 billion LCS scandal and will the nine Bersatu Ministers act as one bloc to support the set-up of such a RCI?
UMNO has 12 Ministers, PAS three Ministers, MCA 1 Minister, MIC 1 Minister, PBB 4 Ministers, PBS 1 Minister and PBM 1 Minister.
Will the other parties in the Cabinet provide the support for a majority, or better still, a united Cabinet decision for the setting up of a RCI into the RM9 billion six LCS scandal?
The Defence Minister, Hishamuddin Hussrein, said after the PAC Report on the RM9 billion LCS scandal was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat last Thursday that his ministry and all related stakeholders would take into account recommendation made by the Public Accounts Committee in proceeding with the procurement of the littoral combat ships (LCS).
Can Hishamuddin state whether he has implemented the first proposal of the PAC, which is to get Cabinet approval to declassify the report of the Special Investigation Committee on Public Governance, Procurement and Finance of the LCS (JKUSTUPKK) which was headed by then auditor-general Ambrin Buang?
If not, can Hishamuddin state whether he agrees with the declassificastion of the JKUSTUPKK report and when he proposes to implement it.
Hishamuddin told the Senate yesterday that the Defence Ministry will be transparent with the public on the status of the project.
The implementation of the PAC’s first proposal to declassify the JKUSTUPKK report will be a test of Hishamuddin’s commitment on the matter.
Hishamuddin has also said the wrongdoers of the LCS scandal will be brought to justice.
Bersatu information chief Wan Saifulo Wan Jan said the real culprit behind the LCS scandal can only be revealed and punished through a transparent and credible RCI – so as to “ensure transparency in the investigation and nothing can be hidden by those who work in cahoots with the corruptors”.
He said there was concern that the hidden hands behind the LCS scandal were trying to avoid responsibility.
The question is whether there are “hidden hands” behind the RM9 billion LCS scandal.
The term “hidden hands:” was used by Datuk Dr. Mohd Tap bin Salleh, a member of JKUSTUPKK, when he testified before the PAC on 1st Dec 2020, where he said:
“The first one is basically is the contractor driven in the sense that the end user was never taken very seriously in terms of their needs. Sebab itu kita nampak misalannya the change from SIGMA to GOWIND it was done within a few days and the negotiation of the pricing was also done within a few days, which is not possible. Unless there are hidden hands involved in this.”
Was this the reason why the then navy commander Abdul Aziz Jaafar told PAC proceedings on July 29, 2021, that “something is gravely wrong” when he spoke of the LCS design change from SIGMA to GOWIND and why his 10 letters of protest at the change of SIGMA to GOWOIND – five to the Defence Minister and two to the Prime Minister – were completely ignored, leading to his comment that “there is no precedent of the design being decided by the main contractor and not the end-user”.
Is there a “hidden hand” behind the RM9 billion LCS scandal?
This indeed calls for a Royal Commission of Inquiry.