Malaysia warship deal scandal: Government did not ignore the issue, says Ismail Sabri

The Malaysian government has taken the appropriate actions on the issue of the littoral combat ship (LCS) procurement scandal and did not ignore the matter, caretaker prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Saturday (Nov 12).

He was responding to a statement by Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Anwar Ibrahim who reportedly demanded Ismail Sabri apologize to the armed forces over the procurement issue.

Ismail Sabri said that the agencies responsible had already conducted their investigations with parties involved in the misappropriation charged in court.

“Actions have been taken on the LCS issue, the caretaker defense minister (Hishammuddin Hussein) had also made statements and explained the matter several times,” he said.

“Those who were accused to be involved in misappropriation and so on had been investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and some people had also been brought to court so the matter is ongoing and we did not ignore it.”

Ismail Sabri said whether it was deliberate or not, Anwar, who is also Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) chief, appeared to be unaware of what had happened because the explanation on the issue had already been given.

A report tabled to Parliament on Aug 4 by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) highlighted the controversial procurement deal after none of the six LCS orders was delivered despite a contract of RM9.13 billion being signed nearly a decade ago.

Agencies