BNS is a subsidiary of Boustead Holdings Bhd, a diversified business conglomerate whose largest shareholder is Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT), or the Armed Forces Fund Board.
According to Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Berhad, the LCS is a frigate-class vessel that can perform complex naval missions covering all four dimensions of modern warfare, namely anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare and electronic warfare.
Mr Ismail Sabri had on Wednesday promised that investigations into the issue will be carried out transparently and that the government will not protect anyone involved.
“The Cabinet has urged the MACC to expedite its investigations and if there is concrete proof, the attorney-general will have to charge those responsible and bring them to justice,” he said in a statement.
He said he had contacted Mr Idrus Harun and Mr Azam after the Cabinet meeting to act immediately in accordance with the decision of the meeting.
Mr Ismail Sabri also said that the government agreed to declassify a report on LCS prepared in 2019 by the Committee on Procurement, Governance and Finance as well as a forensic audit report.
Last month, Deputy Defence Minister Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz told the Lower House that the anti-corruption agency had wrapped up its probe.
“Charges have been recommended and it is now for the attorney-general to decide the next course of action,” he was quoted as saying by the Star on Jul 27.
On Aug 6, Mr Azam, the graft buster chief, was quoted by Malaysian media as saying that the agency was in the final stages of its investigation, but the matter had to be referred to the Attorney-General’s Chambers and other relevant parties before the report could be publicly disclosed.
Several political parties have called for the government to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to investigate the matter.
Speaking out against the scandal, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim urged the Ministry of Defence to stop the procurement and use the allocation instead to improve the welfare of army veterans.
In response, Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Mr Anwar’s suggestion was merely to score political mileage.
He was quoted by national news agency Bernama last Friday that over 400 vendors hoped the project would continue, and 90 per cent of the vendors were linked to veterans.
The minister told the Upper House on Monday that the ministry was given six months to revive the project and he believed that the first ship would be delivered within two years.