Malaysia’s PAC investigates £1.12bn navy ship project progress amid controversy
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) conducted a working visit and proceeding to assess the progress of the second generation littoral combat ships (LCS) owned by the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN). The visit took place at the Boustead Naval Shipyard, Lumut Naval Base in Perak, where three witnesses testified on the LCS project’s progress.
The witnesses included Datuk Dr Shahrazat Ahmad, Deputy Secretary-General (Development) from the Ministry of Defence, Datuk Ahmad Nazim Abd Rahman, Chairman of Boustead Naval Shipyard (BNS), and Azhar Jummat, BNS Chief Executive Officer. The testimonies were provided between 2:30pm and 6pm, while PAC members spent approximately two hours inspecting the construction status of the LCS.
The proceedings centred on the LCS project progress report that the Ministry of Defence is required to present to the PAC every three months until the project’s completion, in accordance with the 14th Parliament’s PAC recommendation. The PAC is dedicated to presenting the LCS project progress report, which will discuss the progress of LCS construction achieved from October 2022 until May 2023. The report will be debated at the Third Meeting, Second Term, of the 15th Parliament from October 9 to November 30.
Previously, the construction of the LCS ships was mired in controversy when the PAC disclosed that not a single unit had been completed, despite the government having paid BNS US$6.08 billion.
