If Najib cannot rebut Rafizi’s allegation that a foreign firm had full control of LCS sub-contractor, it is additional reason why Najib is the “hidden hand” behind the RM9 billion Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) scandal
Everybody in Malaysia, whether government or opposition, the public or private sector, should agree on a four-point approach to the RM9 billion Littoral Combatant Ship (LCS) scandal – (I) to learn the lessons of the scandal; (ii) wrongdoers to be punished; (iii) ensure security and sovereignty of the nation; and (iv) to safeguard the interests of current military staff and ex-service personnel.
(i) To learn the lessons of the scandal.
We have yet to learn the full lessons of the scandal, as we do not know how the scandal started.
According to the testimony of the Chief Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Muez bin Abd Aziz at the Public Accounts Committee on 25th January 2022, the history of the six LCS went as far back as 2007, when Najib Razak was the Minister of Defence.
After Najib became the sixth Prime Minister in April 2009, he appointed Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as Defence Minister until May 2013, while he himself doubled up as Finance Minister all the time he was Prime Minister.
From October 2009 to May 2010, there were six meetings between the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) and the Ministry of Defence on the RMN’s recommendation to procure six Dutch-made Sigma LCS, and the Defence Minster. Zahid Hamidi gave the final approval for the six Sigma LCS procurement on 26th May 2011.
On 8th July 2011, Boustead Navy Shipyard (BNS) wrote to the Defence Minister recommending French-made Gowind LCS and the Defence Minister overturned his previous decision in favour of Sigma LCS on July 11, 2011 without consulting the RM, the end-user.
Datuk Dr. Mohd Tap bin Salleh, a member of the Special Investigation Committee on Public Governance, Procurement and Finance of the LCS (JKUSTUPKK) which was headed by then auditor-general Ambrin Buang, 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 GOWIND- five to the Defence Minister and two to the Prime Minister – were completely ignored, resulting in his comment that “there is no precedent of the design being decided by the main contractor and not the end-user”.
I had asked Zahid Hamidi why as Defence Minister in 2011, he overturned his decision as recommended by the RMN to procure the six Dutch-made Sigma LCS and chose the Scorpene manufacturer’s six French-made Gowind LCS on July 11, 2011 without consulting the Navy, the end-user?
What was most humiliating, the RMN was not informed of the Defence Minister’s change of decision and had to be informed by the contractor itself.
(ii) Wrong doers should be punished.
The Defence Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein has said that those involved in misconduct in the RM9 billion LCS scandal would be brought to justice, as “guilty remains guilty” whether corruption, malpractices and irregularities.
Malaysia was given a low rating by Transparency International (TI) related to corruption in the defence sector.
Malaysia scored 45% and received a D rating in the TI’s Government Defence Integrity Index (GDI) for 2020 – the D rating indicates weak institutional resilience to graft.
The GDI assesses a country’s defence sector and how well those responsible are able to manage the risk of corruption across multiple areas of defence.
But Egypt scored lower in the GDI, as it got a “F” rating, but Egypt has two of four Gowind LCS in operation, although Egypt procured the four Gowind LCS many years after Malaysia.
Has corruption in the Malaysian sector of defence deteriorated to the Egyptian level or has Egypt improved and become less corrupt in the defence sector to upgrade from “F” to “D” in the TI GDI?
Yesterday, the MACC announced that it has completed several investigation papers on individuals linked to the alleged misappropriation in handling the LCS construction project.
I will suspend judgment on the matter and wait to see whether the MACC is dealing with all the wrongdoers who according to one source, had misappropriated at least RM890 million of the LCS funds.
(iii) To ensure security and sovereignty of the nation
The procurement of LCS is critical to safeguard the country’s security and sovereignty as the navy needs to have a combat capability in line with the development of the regional geostrategic and geopolitical security landscape.
As an end user, the delay in the project has had a negative impact not only on RMN’s combat capability but also on the morale of its personnel to carry out their responsibilities effectively.
It is important to proceed with the project so as prioritise the country’s security and sovereignty.
The navy and country must move on to complete and deliver the six LCS in the shortest time possible.
(iv) To safeguard the interests of current military staff and ex-service personnel.
The RM9 billion LCS has again shown that the current military staff and ex-service personnel are not at the top of concern of the authorities, as the cronies of those in power have no compunction to benefit at the expense of current military personnel and ex-service people, including LTAT.
In the final package to resolve the RM9 billion LCS scandal, the interests and welfare of the current military staff and ex service personnel, including LTAT, must be taken into account.