Effects of LCS scandal widely felt in Lumut – incumbent MP

The effects of the multi-billion-ringgit littoral combatant ship (LCS) scandal are widely felt in Lumut, Perak, its incumbent MP Mohd Hatta Ramli has claimed.

This was because many locals in the area - which was declared as a naval, tourism, and maritime town - are either directly or indirectly affected by the scandal.

"Maybe for others, the LCS project is yet another scandal involving BN leaders. But for the locals (in Lumut), this involves their rice bowls.

"Many of the locals are directly or indirectly involved with the project, and have now lost their livelihoods," Hatta, who is also Amanah secretary-general, told Malaysiakini.

He was commenting on the Public Account Committee's (PAC) report in August about a huge overrun in costs amounting to RM1.4 billion in the RM9 billion LCS contract, with RM6 billion paid as of 2020.

Despite the government having paid such a huge amount, none of the ships has been completed after eight years. The project was started in 2014.

According to Hatta, many navy veterans worked as suppliers and workers in the project, and the delay in resolving the scandal is putting their livelihoods in jeopardy.

He claimed that the town's economic situation has been impacted by the scandal, with the oil and gas industry among those hit by it.

"A lot of suppliers have not been paid despite RM6 billion disbursed for the ships' construction. This has caused them to look for other jobs.

"There are companies which hired hundreds of people (for the project), but are now left with 15 or 20 people, as they are unable to pay their workers," Hatta said.

Hatta recalled that when he served as a PAC member, he was in agreement with the proposal to pay off the suppliers involved in the project first.

"However, a large sum went towards settling the main contractor's old debts, which has nothing to do with the LCS project. Was this in line with the government's financial rules? I don't know," he said.

Hatta won the Lumut parliamentary seat in a three-cornered contest in 2018, with a slim majority of 400 votes.

In the 15th general election, Hatta will clash with BN sceretary-general Zambry Abdul Kadir and three others, namely Commander (Rtd) Nordin Ahmad Ismail from Perikatan Nasional, Mohd Isnin Ismail from Warisan and Mazlan Abd Ghani from Pejuang.

There are 92,972 eligible voters in the parliamentary constituency.

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