KUALA LUMPUR: The procurement of the first batch of Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) has been reduced from six to five vessels after the application to continue the project was discussed again by the government, Navy chief Admiral Datuk Abdul Rahman Ayob (pic) said.
“Originally, it was six units of LCS, but when we reapplied and discussed the matter again, we agreed to reduce to five.
“The first batch has been set at five (units).
“This decision was made sometime ago when the government decided to continue the LCS project (last year),” he said.
He said this after delivering his maiden speech following his appointment as the 18th Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) chief at Wisma Pertahanan here yesterday, Bernama reported.
Also present were Navy deputy chief Vice-Admiral Datuk Sabri Zali, Western Fleet Commander Vice-Admiral Datuk Abu Bakar Md Ajis, Eastern Fleet Commander Vice-Admiral Datuk Muhammad Ruzelme Ahmad Fahimy and president of the National Centre for Defence Studies Vice-Admiral Datuk Zulhelmy Ithnain.
Admiral Abdul Rahman said the sixth supplementary agreement on the LCS project would be signed soon to enable the construction to be carried out as planned.
“It is okay now. There is nothing surprising, and we hope we can get these vessels according to schedule (because) we lack high-capacity assets like the LCS.
“The LCS will help us to strengthen (our capability) and carry out our tasks with excellence,” he said.
The Navy chief said the procurement of the second batch of Littoral Mission Ships (LMS) would safeguard the security and sovereignty of the country’s waters.
“We hope the application can be approved this year to enable us to carry out the procurement process, with each vessel taking at least three years to complete.
“This time, we need LMS with combat capability. That’s a significant difference from the four LMS we’ve acquired from China.
“For starters, we requested three units (for the second batch),” he said.
Earlier this month, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said one of the six ships was expected to be ready next year.
He had also said he wanted at least four of the six ships to be completed during his tenure at the ministry.
The multi-billion-ringgit project was signed in 2014, and the ships were supposed to be delivered in stages beginning 2019.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC), in its report on Aug 4 last year, said the government had paid RM6.083bil to Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS) in a deal that was allegedly awarded via direct negotiation, but not a single vessel had been delivered.
The PAC also revealed that some RM1.4bil for the project had been diverted for other purposes.
Two reports were subsequently declassified, including the one by the governance, procurement and finance investigation committee, which said the cost of completing the six LCS might balloon to RM11.145bil.
On Aug 17, former Navy chief Tan Sri Ahmad Ramli Mohd Nor, the former managing director of BNS, was charged with three counts of criminal breach of trust involving RM21.08mil over the project.
