Malaysia's Multi-billion Warship Project Is Still Up for Scrutiny Says Top Official

Malaysia's controversial warship project, worth more than US$2 billion, will resume soon but will be subject to further scrutiny, Malaysian defense minister Mohamad Hasan told the press on Saturday, Dec. 10.

The defense minister clarified that he should be briefed soon about the details of the multi-billion Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) project, as reported by CNA. This is after the said deal has been hit by scandals and delays in the last couple of months.

Recently, Mohamad Hasan also declared that he would now collaborate with the ministry's top officials to guarantee that the frigates were constructed and delivered. The top official pledged, "I will ask the government to study it properly and we will ensure these ships are built and completed in the best way possible."

The minister did not elaborate on how he intends to lobby the government on his concerns.

Delays and Controversies

As reported by The Straits Times, a contractor company in charge of purchasing spare parts for the multi-billion dollar Malaysian warship project spent some of the government money in August on mundane items like cotton buds, mineral water, cleaning supplies, and fans. This triggered the government to set a probe into the high-stakes project.

These findings are after the Malaysian parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) tabled a report on the procurement of littoral combatant ships two years after starting a probe into the RM9.13 billion (US$2.05 billion) contract.

Former defense minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, former defense minister Hishammuddin Hussein, who held the job from May 2013 to May 2018, and representatives from Boustead subsidiaries were among those summoned to the proceedings.

The Ministry of Defence gave Boustead Naval Shipyard the contract to build six ships after direct negotiations, said the committee and the government have already paid RM6.08 billion, or 66.65% of the total cost.

The fact that not even one of the LCS ships has been delivered astounded PAC chairman Wong Kah Woh. By August 2022, five LCS ships should have been finished and delivered to PAC, according to the project schedule.

Calls for Sanction

The government has also been urged by organizations like Transparency International Malaysia to stop funding the project until the terms of the contract are fulfilled. The group argued that all involved contractors and government employees who were found to have neglected their duties in connection with the project should be the subject of investigations.

Six corvette-class ships are to be built as part of the LCS project and will be delivered between 2019 and this month. Although none have been delivered, only the first ship, KD Maharaja Lela, was launched in 2017.

Meanwhile, retired service members, typically seen as a government vote bank, issued a rare rebuke in response to the PAC's findings, urging officials to act quickly to ensure that the ships are built to replace the navy's aging assets.

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