MUHYIDDIN Yassin has asked voters if they would trust Barisan Nasional (BN) after the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) revelation on the littoral combat ship (LCS) scandal, as the fiasco traces its origins to the then BN government.

In a Facebook post, the Perikatan Nasional chairman pointed out that BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was the defence minister from 2009 to 2013.

The former prime minister noted that Royal Malaysian Navy chief Abdul Aziz Jaafar had written 10 protest letters on the matter, including five to Zahid – but to little effect.

“However, these protests were ignored by the defence minister,” he said in the post.

“This is the BN leader who will lead the (coalition) in the 15th general election. If this is the case, can Malaysians trust BN’s mantras in the next GE?”

Muhyiddin also joined the growing chorus for a royal commission of inquiry to be formed to investigate the scandal.

Zahid has refuted claims that he was involved in the LCS decision.

He said it was not right to blame him for the failure of LCS procurement as he was not the defence minister when the project was awarded.

“Those who are involved need to give an explanation to the Public Accounts Committee,” he was quoted as saying by party organ Umno Online.

Zahid, who was the defence minister from April 2009 to May 2013, said any party that caused the delay of the project should be responsible for providing an explanation to the PAC.

He said the contract awarded to Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd was in accordance with the direct negotiation procurement application guidelines dated April 17, 2002.

“Clearly, it has nothing to do with me. Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera itself is the largest shareholder in the company constructing the LCS,” he said.

In a separate statement, the Bagan Datuk lawmaker cautioned that declassifying documents relating to the project might expose state secrets.

He said there are concerns on the matter, therefore Putrajaya needs to deal with it wisely and transparently so as not to be influenced by public opinion.

“The PAC should be more sensitive in its probe, especially regarding the LCS as it involves national security and it is still under investigation,” he said.

However, the post drew fire from PAC chairman Wong Kah Woh, who said he will not allow any “cover-ups” in the name of “national security”.

Wong declared that Malaysians will not be prevented from knowing how the government is spending taxpayers’ money by the excuse.

“PAC is responsible for investigating government matters and all proceedings are recorded verbatim like in the parliament Hansard,” said Wong in a statement today.

He said all PAC reports are based on the confirmed statements of the witnesses.

“As such, I find Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s comments about how PAC should be more sensitive about the littoral combatant ship issue puzzling,” he said.

Last week, PAC released its report on the LCS procurement, noting that none of the six LCS ships have been delivered after the government paid RM6 billion for them. – August 9, 2022.