PETALING JAYA: Bersatu information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan has urged the government to set up a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to investigate the littoral combat ship (LCS) scandal.
He said the parties involved could only be exposed, and appropriate action taken against them, after an open inquiry. He said this was important to ensure the country’s security and sovereignty were not compromised.
“The RCI will prevent those involved in bribery and corruption from hiding anything,” he said in a Facebook post.
Transparency International Malaysia has also urged the government to suspend payments for the project until contract specifications were met. Investigations should be conducted into all contractors involved and civil servants found negligent in their duties in relation to the project.
The LCS project calls for the construction of six corvette-class vessels for delivery between 2019 and this month. However only the first ship, KD Maharaja Lela, was launched in 2017 and none have been delivered.
Defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein later said those involved in misconduct in the project would be brought to justice. He said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) was still investigating the case.
Wan Saiful said MACC must be given the freedom to look into this matter thoroughly. It was alarming that those involved were refusing to take responsibility despite the scandal being publicised, he said.
Earlier today, PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli had called out former prime minister Najib Razak, saying he could not wash his hands of the LCS deal.
He said Najib was in office when the government signed the deal with Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS) in 2011 and was the only person with the power to influence a change in the ship’s design from the navy’s original requirements.
A parliamentary committee said the navy and the defence ministry had agreed on a Dutch-design but the decision was changed to the French-designed Gowind ships after a recommendation by BNS to the defence minister.
The committee said the government had ignored the navy’s views as well as protest letters from the then chief of navy.
