THE opposition has urged Putrajaya to call for a special parliamentary sitting before the end of August to debate the littoral combat ship (LCS) matter.

In a statement, former deputy defence minister Liew Chin Tong said that the cabinet should call for a sitting this Wednesday to consult with all parties in parliament through a committee.

“The 14th parliament term will be automatically dissolved in less than a year, by July 15, 2023, and any solution to the LCS project has to be bipartisan in nature so as to last beyond the next general election and survive changes of government.

“This is necessary as defence procurements are usually a multi-year process.

“For the LCS project to move forward, the Ismail Sabri government, which currently has a shelf life of less than 10 months, should seek bipartisan consultation and solution through a parliamentary committee, which will eventually be endorsed by the Dewan as a whole,” said the DAP lawmaker.

Ismail recently gave his assurance that a report by a special committee formed by the Pakatan Harapan administration to investigate the procurement of the combat ships will be made public.

The cabinet also proposed that the forensic audit report of the procurement project conducted in 2019 be declassified, subject to the advice and views of the attorney-general and auditor-general.

Malaysia was rocked last week when the Public Accounts Committee released its report on the troubled project.

The report disclosed that the committee had had nine proceedings on the project beginning November 18, 2020, and the last one was held on March 8 this year, where several witnesses were called to give their statements.

PAC investigations had found that the contract was awarded to Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS) via direct negotiation, with the government paying RM6.08 billion to the shipbuilder, however, not even one ship has been delivered to date.

Speaking further, Liew said when the Dewan Rakyat convenes for the special sitting, MPs must debate on four key points.

“MPs should debate on the PAC’s August 4 report on the LCS, the Ambrin Buang reports on the new generation patrol vehicles (NGPV) and LCS, the forensic audit report on LCS by BNS, and a proposed bipartisan solution to move the LCS project forward.

“For the sake of the navy and our national sovereignty, a bipartisan solution to the LCS project that will outlast the change of government in the next general election and beyond is crucial,” he said. – August 14, 2022.