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KUALA LUMPUR: Several people, including former defense minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (photo), will be questioned by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) about the RM9bil Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) project, says Wong Kah Woh.
The PAC chairman said former Navy Chief Admiral Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar and a representative from Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS), the main contractor for the LCS, will be questioned in the proceedings that will resume in early January .
“The PAC will also pay a visit to the LCS ship’s construction site in Lumut, Perak, in January next year.
“The PAC aims to complete and present the PAC report on the supply of six second generation LCS vessels at the March session of Parliament,” Wong told reporters in Parliament on Thursday (December 17).
Wong said that the PAC has held four meetings and proceedings on the matter in which Auditor General (AG) Datuk Nik Azman Nik Abdul Majid, Secretary General of the Defense Ministry Datuk Muez Abd Aziz, and former AG Tan Sri Ambrin Buang and several other people had been questioned.
He said the government must find a solution to the matter as soon as possible, as the failure to complete the construction of the LCS ships is a serious matter.
“Because it not only involves weakness or failure in terms of administration, acquisitions and finances, but also impacts the defense and security of the nation,” he said.
“The PAC believes that the government should decide on a solution as soon as possible. It is also important that the PAC streamline this process and present its report to Parliament ”, he added.
It was reported that RM5.94bil was paid to BNS for the project that was launched in 2014.
The first LCS ship was scheduled to be delivered in April 2019. However, none of the ships have been built to date.
In September, Liew Chin Tong, the former defense minister, had revealed that RM1bil paid for LCS ships could not be traced.
Zahid is also a former deputy prime minister.
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