Hishammuddin should resign as Minister of Defence if he cannot convince the Cabinet to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the RM9 billion Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) scandal

I congratulate the Defence Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, for his undertaking in the Dewan Negara yesterday during the debate on Senator Lim Hui Ying’s motion of urgent, definite public importance on the RM9 billion littoral combat ship (LCS) scandal to propose the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the LCS scandal at the next meeting of the Cabinet, which is in a few hours ttime.

Hishammuddin should resign as Minister of Defence if he cannot convince the Cabinet to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the RM9 billion LCS scandal, as it would show that his views and proposals as Defence Minister on defence matters are utterly irrelevant and not taken seriously by other Ministers in the Cabinet.

Yesterday, I issued an Open Letter to Hishammuddin on 10 reasons why there is an urgent need for a RCI into the RM9 billion LCS scandal.

Today, I am giving another 10 reasons for the establishment of an RCI into the RM9 billion LCS scandal and it is completely inconceivable for any responsible Minister to ignore the 20 reasons for the establishment of an RCI into the RM9 billion LCS scandal.

Reason 11: The three charges against former Boustead Heavy Industries Corp Bhd managing director Tan Sri Ahmad Ramli Mohd Nor yesterday is the 11th reason why there should be a RCI on the RM9 billion LCS scandal. Although the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said it has completed investigations into the LCS scandal, the three charges against Ramli had nothing to do with the LCS scandal. All the three charges against Ramli were before the issue of the LOA (Letter of Award) for the LCS procurement which were issued on 16th December 2011. The three charges against Ramli pre-date the issue of LOA for the LCS procurement , which meant they related to other defence procurement scandals. The MACC should explain to the RCI why after 10 years, the MACC has failed to prefer a single charge against anyone for the RM9 billion LCS scandal.

Reason 12: The three charges against Ramli explained why Malaysia is rated in the low category of the high-risk corruption of D group of countries in Transparency International’s Government Defence Integrity (GDI) Index for corruption in the defence sector, for there are many other defence acquisitions in Malaysia mired in corruption, malpractices and abuses of power, like the theft of two engines of F5 fighter jets, Scorpene and Agosta submarines scandal, the crash of RMAF aircrafts, the four-year delay in the delivery of six “Little Birds” helicopters, only four of the 28 Russian-made fighter jets able to fly and other horror stories of defence procurement in Malaysia involving millions or billions of ringgit. All these defence malpractices need to be inquired into.

Reason 13: Hishammuddin has repeatedly said that the Defence Ministry has “nothing to hide” and the establishment of an RCI into the RM9 billion LCS scandal would be the best proof that the Defence Ministry had indeed nothing to hide.

Reason 14: Apart from Tan Sri Ahmad Ramli Mohd Nor, another main protagonist in the RM9 billion LCS scandal who also featured prominently in the RM50 billion 1MDB scandal, is Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin – who is a Najib crony. The RCI should inquire what is the role of Lodin Wok in the RM9 billion LCS scandal.

Reason 15: Given the background of the Scorpene procurement and Altantunya Shariibuu murder case, the RCI should probe why the government unilaterally and arbitrarily, without referring or consulting RMN, the choice was made on the Gowind LCS design which was manufactured by the defence company which had manufactured the Scorpene submarines, despite strong objections of RMN in favour of the Sigma LCS design.

Reason 16: The RCI should inquire into the reasons why the Minister of Defence against the decision of RMN, unilaterally and arbitrarily changed the decision on the Combat Management System (CMS) from the TACTICOS system favoured by the RMN to SETIS system.

Reason 17: Did the RM9 billion LCS procurement achieve the purpose of transfer of technology, or was it a loss of opportunity especially as the Dutch manufacturer of the RMN-supported Sigma LCS was prepared to make Malaysia its hub.

Reason 18: Why the use of middlemen which resulted in the prices marked up by three or four times and a loss of over RM1 billion in the LSC procurement.

Reason 19: What parliamentary reforms and institutional changes are needed to prevent a repetition of the RM9 billion LCS scandal, which not only undermine the security and sovereignty of the nation but also detrimental to the interests of the military and ex-military personnel.

Reason 20: To recommend how best to complete the construction of the six LCS, as the government is bent on completing the construction of the first two LCS while leaving the remaining four LCS in a limbo.