PAC: Contradictory remark by Mindef, BHIC on redacted LCS forensic audit report

The Defence Ministry has denied redacting several paragraphs and charts in the littoral combat ships (LCS) internal forensic audit report by Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Bhd (BHIC), according to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

PAC chairperson Wong Kah Woh (above) said what Defence Ministry secretary-general Muez Abd Aziz said yesterday, however, contradicted the previous statement made by BHIC.

"In the previous proceeding, BHIC explained that it received a copy of the forensic report with (paragraph and charts) redaction from the Defence Ministry before the report was submitted to the PAC.

"However, Muez said the ministry never received any report from BHIC, and that it had never been involved in any act of redacting the forensic report.

"PAC has requested the Defence Ministry to get an explanation from BHIC as to what really happened and come back to us with a clarification," Wong told a press conference at Parliament today.

BHIC is the parent company of Boustead Naval Shipyards (BNS), the main contractor of the LCS project.

The PAC is of the view that there is no need for the government to black out some of the information in the report.

"It was understood this was done on the advice of the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) where the names of company's shareholders, directors and the bank that provided loans and financial facilities to the company, were redacted," added Wong, who is also Ipoh Timur MP.

"We are not satisfied and did not receive an explanation from the AGC on its rationale for doing so. PAC insists that the report be fully declassified as stated in the recommendations in this Committee's report and the cabinet should give such instructions.”

He also said that the PAC insists on the report to be fully declassified as stated in the recommendations and that the cabinet should give such instructions.

"Meanwhile, we were informed that the MACC had opened five investigation papers on LCS with the first one opened in February 2021, the second in January this year where a person has been charged, while another investigation paper has been submitted to the AGC.

"MACC also opened one investigation paper each in February and August, which is still under investigation," Wong said.

The audit reports by JKSTUPKK were declassified on Aug 10, one week after PAC released its finding into the LCS scandal.

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