KUALA LUMPUR: Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has urged the government to set up a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to look into the alleged mishandling of the littoral combat ship (LCS) project.
In a statement posted on PN's Facebook page today, the former prime minister said the scandal involving losses worth billions had also hampered the Royal Malaysian Navy's (RMN) ability to manage the country's waters.
"Although the kleptocratic Barisan Nasional (BN) rule had ended during the 14th general election, the country is still haunted by the relics of its depravity.
"The expose by the former RMN chief Tan Sri Dr Abdul Aziz Jaafar on his objection to the acquisition of this project through several letters sent to the defence minister at the time has really surprised us.
"This objection was, however, ignored by the minister. For the record, the minister at the time is the current Umno president and BN chairman," he said.
On Thursday, the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) revealed that the LCS project contract was awarded to Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS) via direct negotiation, with the government paying RM6.083 billion, but not one LCS has been delivered, thus far.
The government, it said, also had to make an advanced payment of RM1.36 billion to BNS.
Muhyiddin said it was unfortunate that corruption and embezzlement, which he described as a "cancer" in an administration, had returned to the nation.
"PN strongly opposes these dirty practices and will not allow kleptocratic groups to gamble with the fate of the people for personal gain."
Yesterday, Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein told the Dewan Negara that the government would report on the schedule and progress of the LCS construction in stages.
He said his ministry was given six months to revive the project and said he believed the first ship would be delivered to the RMN within two years.