Zambry: I highlighted the plight of suppliers affected by LCS project first

GE15 | Zambry Abdul Kadir, the BN candidate for the Lumut parliamentary seat for the 15th general election (GE15), said that he was among the first to highlight the plight of the local suppliers in Lumut affected by the multi-billion-ringgit littoral combatant ship (LCS) scandal.

According to him, there were initially plans for the project to be discontinued and attempts to paint the project as a scandal.

“(So), I made an open statement requesting the government to note that while we debate the LCS scandal, let’s not forget the 400 suppliers affected by the issue…,” Zambry (above), who is also former Perak menteri besar, told reporters during his walkabout session at Pasir Panjang Laut in Lumut, yesterday.

Zambry was responding to the remark by his challenger for the Lumut parliamentary seat - Pakatan Harapan’s Hatta Ramli, that the LCS scandal is widely felt in Lumut.

Hatta, who is also the incumbent Lumut MP, said many locals were either directly or indirectly affected by the scandal. According to him, many navy veterans who worked as suppliers and workers in the project had their livelihoods jeopardised by the delay in resolving the scandal.

The Public Account Committee (PAC) reported in August about huge cost overruns 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 have been completed after eight years. The project was started in 2014.

Meanwhile, Zambry said the government should immediately resume the LCS project for the sake of the suppliers affected by the scandal.

“Any questions regarding the delay in the project should be directed toward the relevant parties.

“What I’m saying is, when no one else spoke up (about the project), I was the first one to urge the government to assist the 400 affected suppliers.”

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 secretary-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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