Was accountability dutifully performed by the awardee BNS? How on earth was it awarded such a financially immense construction contract yet unable to deliver the finished product within the stipulated time frame, not to mention the alleged misappropriation of the LCS project fund to salvage another debt-ridden company?

The Public Accounts Committee disclosed that the government had paid RM6.08 million, or 66.64% of the contracted amount of RM9.13 billion, for six uncompleted littoral combat ships (LCS).

The first LCS was supposed to be handed over to the government in April 2019, but has so far only completed 44% of construction works, while the construction progress is between 16% and 35% for the other four. As for the sixth vessel, construction work has yet to begin.

Although the involved parties have tried hard to prove that the LCS are not as “transparent” as some people have claimed, the question now is whether any irregularity has been involved having spent so much money and so much time yet the LCS are not ready to be deployed. Thorough investigation must be conducted.

Commendably, the PAC has been commissioned to conduct the investigation into this matter and a 250-page report has been published. This shows that the PAC’s checks and balances role has been valued and approved by the government.

In the midst of finger-pointing and as the public remain half-informed, the cabinet has urged the MACC to speed up the investigation and if there is evidence for malpractice, the Attorney-General must follow up the prosecution and bring the perpetrators to book.

The cabinet’s decision has adopted the most important proposition in the PAC report, namely to declassify the reports on second generation patrol vessels or LCS, while the MACC must take immediate actions based on the suggestions in the relevant departments’ reports.

This shows that the government has been very open and transparent in this particular issue, even though the follow-up effects could hurt the government’s image. In fact, the government should draw a valuable lesson from the 1MDB scandal.

Prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said he had instructed the AG and MACC commissioner to take prompt actions on this matter, while the cabinet has also decided to declassify the report by the committee on governance, finance and procurement investigation headed by former auditor-general Ambrin Buang.

The PAC has clearly tabulated names of individuals believed to be guilty of apparent mismanagement, some of whom have defiantly denied their involvement.

After the PM has issued the instruction, all relevant reports and follow-up investigation outcomes must be made fully transparent to the public. The taxpayers have the right to know the details.

According to the PAC report, Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS) received the letter of award for the construction of the LCS in 2011, with the contract period beginning from October 3, 2013. However, until 2019 the first LCS had yet to be delivered.

From 2011 until now, we have gone through the BN, PH and PN administrations, and while past and present defense ministers have had their own explanations, were they actually doing their jobs properly? The decisions of successive prime ministers were also very crucial, while the attitude of the Navy who will be the end users of the ships will also affect the contract’s operation and ship construction as it entails the safety and practicality of the ships.

Sure enough we need these combat ships to preserve the nation’s sovereignty and safety, but first and foremost we need to know how the contract was awarded to BNS back then. Some claimed that the contract was lopsided and had been inked even before the detailed design of the LCS was finalized.

The Malaysian public have the right to know why someone had been given so much power in awarding the contract and whether there was a third party agency that had the ability to check the relevant decision-maker’s power.

Was accountability dutifully performed by the awardee BNS? How on earth was it awarded such a financially immense construction contract yet unable to deliver the finished product within the stipulated time frame, not to mention the alleged misappropriation of the LCS project fund to salvage another debt-ridden company? All these must be thoroughly probed.

The MACC has been reportedly probing this case, and the details set out in the PAC report should help expedite the process.

Malaysians are entitled to the explicit and transparent investigation results. Meanwhile, politicians must stop their war of words throughout the course of investigation and offer their full cooperation instead so as to clear the air over this whole issue.

If necessary, a royal commission of inquiry should be set up and manned by independent and authoritative individuals to thoroughly probe the incident in a bid to protect the interest of the rakyat as well as the dignity of the Royal Malaysian Navy.