Declassify LCS investigation documents as promised, says Mat Sabu

PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob should declassify documents relating to the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) project as promised, says Mohamad Sabu.

The former defence minister said no action has been taken so far after the Cabinet agreed to declassify the investigation report by the Investigating Committee on Procurement, Governance and Finance (JKSTUPKK) on the procurement of the LCS and the forensic audit report.

He added that the JKSTUPKK investigation covered nine ministries, totalling a government budget of RM47bil.

“According to JKSTUPKK, among the significant weaknesses are poor planning, non-comprehensive due diligence and weakness of contract clauses,” said Mohamad, also known as Mat Sabu, in a statement.

He said other significant weaknesses were contract enforcement, failure to follow guidelines, prototype purchase, procurement by direct negotiation which is less transparent, and lack of monitoring and intervention of members of the administration in the procurement process.

On Aug 10, the Prime Minister announced that the government agreed to declassify documents pertaining to investigations into the LCS scandal.

However, he said, the government would seek the advice of the Attorney General and Auditor-General before doing so.

The LCS controversy gained momentum over the past few days after the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) revealed that none of the ships have been completed so far, although five should have been delivered by this month.

It was reported that RM1.4bil worth of government funds intended for the multibillion-ringgit LCS project signed in 2014 was diverted for other purposes.

These were among the findings contained in the bipartisan committee’s 250-page report that was tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on Aug 4.

The JKSTUPKK was headed by former Auditor-General Tan Sri Amrin Buang.