PAC chair hopes declassified LCS report won't be redacted
Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairperson Wong Kah Woh urged Putrajaya to release the special investigation report on the procurement of the littoral combat ship (LCS) in full, should they decide to declassify it.
"We wish to stress that the declassification of the report must be done in full and not (repeat) what happened with a (similar) report of the AES project where a lot of information was redacted on the basis of 'protecting the government’s interest'," he added.
Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairperson Wong Kah Woh urged Putrajaya to release the special investigation report on the procurement of the littoral combat ship (LCS) in full, should they decide to declassify it.
"We wish to stress that the declassification of the report must be done in full and not (repeat) what happened with a (similar) report of the AES project where a lot of information was redacted on the basis of 'protecting the government’s interest'," he added.
On Aug 1, Wong (above) criticised Putrajaya for redacting crucial parts of the Investigating Committee on Governance, Procurement, and Finance of the Government report on the Automatic Enforcement System (AES) project.
Earlier today, the cabinet agreed to declassify the Special Committee on Governance Investigation, Government Procurement and Finance report on the procurement of six LCS ships.
However, the cabinet contended that the decision would depend on greenlight from the attorney-general and auditor-general.
Nevertheless, Wong welcomed Putrajaya's decision to adopt two of PAC's recommendations, namely the declassification of the report and ordering MACC to take immediate action.
"Cabinet's decision proves that PAC's work is very important to ensure that proper procurement process is practised by the government to safeguard national interest.
"It also proves that the legislative branch can fulfil its check and balance function on the executive if there is a vibrant parliamentary democracy," he said.
Finger pointing
The bipartisan PAC released its investigation report on the LCS project last Thursday.
Among others, the report implicated Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as the person responsible for switching the LCS design to one that was not sought by the navy.
PAC also concluded there were many irregularities in the project leading to delivery delays and sub-contractors not being paid.
However, Zahid said he was not to blame for the matter while then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak blamed the delays on the previous Pakatan Harapan government’s decision to freeze the project in late 2019.
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