Malaysia reports back on the navy’s LCS fiasco
The first Malaysian LCS will now not be ready until 2025, six years after its scheduled delivery date. (Gordon Arthur)
Blame can be apportioned to various sources for the incessant delays in Malaysia’s corvette programme, with the first ship still several years away.
The Malaysian parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) released findings on the troubled six-ship Maharaja Lela-class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) programme on 4 August.
The PAC detailed irregularities in programme management by senior Boustead Heavy Industry Corporation (BHIC) heads in the 2011-14 period, problems in BHIC getting ship design plans approved by Naval Group, Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) dissatisfaction with the programme, and weak management by both the MoD and Malaysian government in protecting government interests.
During the hearings, forensic audit company Alliance IFA told the PAC that it found numerous irregularities in programme management and contracts awarded by BHIC/Boustead
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