YOURSAY | LCS bailout: Pumping more billions into bottomless pit?

YOURSAY | ‘How many more years must we wait before we see the ships?’

Cabinet unanimously agrees to proceed with LCS procurement

OCT: This has become a bailout for the presumably bumiputera contractors. RM6 billion had already been paid out, but the vendors apparently did not get the money. So ‘die die’, the government must step in to rescue them.

Meanwhile, the government will investigate as usual without any culprits identified. It is impossible that the government cannot trace where the money has gone with its huge resources, talents and advanced tools for forensic investigation.

When the results of the investigation implicate VVIPs and cronies, don’t expect the government to shame itself. The investigation will become a cold case.

The government is also pouring good money after bad. It would seem that by the time the Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) are delivered, they will become obsolete due to technological advances. Time is of the essence here.

Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein is just painting a feel-good picture. All his suggestions are afterthoughts as if they were not in existence in the first place.

That a big security project like this can go haywire without any oversight is unbelievable. The rakyat have the right to know where, to whom and how the RM6 billion was spent without seeing any deliverables.

BobbyO: Here we go again. There is still money left as oil and palm oil prices are up.

So give the people a ‘shiok sendiri’ (self-praising) speech about how we need the combat ships, how we love the nation and how these ships will be purchased and used for the protection of our citizens.

Look at 1MDB, the Scorpene submarines, and the hundreds of failed purchases of substandard or overpriced goods. Billions gone, and what has the nation and its people got back in return? Zilch.

Traitors have sold this nation’s security for a fistful of ringgit. Malaysians by now are used to such false talk.

It all boils down to how much we can profit from such ‘cepat kaya’ (get rich quick) schemes. The other fact is they (the traitors) are already rich beyond their capabilities.

MACC, the ‘pick and choose who to investigate’ agency, will be responsible for making sure all is above board.

Indeed, the elites, politicians and even top civil servants have made a mockery of the phrase “loyalty to the nation”.

Kim Quek: This LCS procurement project is typical of the many scandalous defence procurement contracts under the kleptocratic Umno rule where billions after billions of taxpayers’ money were squandered through corruption.

It’s easy for the cabinet to decide to continue with the current contract by pumping more billions into this obviously failed project so as to keep the cronies afloat, but what will be the end results?

How many more billions must we spend? How many more years must we wait before we see the ships? Will the ships ever be completed according to the specifications?

A full and independent inquiry should obviously be set up to probe the current failure before any major decision is made, and Pakatan Harapan, which helmed the Defence Ministry briefly with Mohamad ‘Mat’ Sabu as its minister, should promptly make its stand on this issue.

Cyclonus: The two key factors for the “considerations” are the 400 vendors and “much needed” naval assets?

What about consideration for the 33 million rakyat, who have to foot this bill in addition to what has already been allegedly lost/siphoned out?

And these are really ‘much-needed naval assets’? We’ve survived without these naval assets so far, so why proceed with them?

There is so much ‘wayang’ trying to protect the elites who have lost money or ‘stolen’ money from us. By the way, MACC should also investigate the defence ministers during and after the time the contract was awarded for letting this happen and continuing to happen.

Joker: It looks like the well-being of 400 vendors is more important than the well-being of 33 million Malaysians. Taxpayers have thrown so much money into the project so far without even seeing one ship, let alone they being able to defend the nation.

I highly doubt the morale of our long-suffering Navy personnel will be buoyed by these non-existing ships.

Had we spent the money to import the ships, our Navy boys would already be serving on a modern fleet. There would be money left over to give better benefits to these Navy personnel.

Moontime: I can’t help but be cynical about all this. What happened to all the Audit Department reports over discrepancies and wastage of funds in the Defence Ministry over the years?

Undelivered helicopters and fighter jets, missing jet engines and dud submarines make us wonder what the ministry was up to? Is it just a vehicle to enrich certain quarters via fat commissions or to protect the country?

Dizzer: The RM9 billion-plus project was given to Boustead by the Defence Ministry almost 12 years ago (it’s 60 percent owned by LTAT, the Armed Forces Fund Board).

Then defence minister Mat Sabu inherited this disaster, but since they had spent RM6 billion already for (I think) just one ship, he had no option but to continue.

It is incredible how the elites gamble with bumiputera pensions (KWAP, LTAT, etc.), knowing that in the (likely) event of failure, the taxpayer will foot the bill.

MerdekaMerdekaMerdeka: Just when we thought that the €1.2 billion (RM5.57 billion) sale of French Scorpène-class submarines that reportedly can’t submerge - delivered to Malaysia in September 2009 - would teach us a lesson, a new problem has surfaced. (Pun intended.)

Never mind about them being combat vessels and all, but will these six ships - worth RM9 billion this time around - be even able to just move forward and then astern, to begin with?

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