The announcement by Ismail Sabri to declassify the 2019 forensic report on the procurement of six Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) is equivalent to a slap in the face to UMNO president, Ahmad Zahid who previously expressed concerns that any “exposure” of documents related to the LCS project might affect state secrets.

As rightly pointed out by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Wong Kah Woh, national security should never be used as an excuse to cover up wrongdoings and/or mismanagement.

In addition to declassifying the reports, MACC was also urged to speed up its investigation into the matter, and should it find solid evidence of misconduct within the project, the attorney-general will be required to drag all those responsible to court to face the music.

None of this would be possible without PAC’s thorough investigation and detailed report of the project

The PAC chaired by the Opposition is very different compared to PACs which were chaired by government members of Parliament.

PAC chairman is no longer a “cari makan” position as once claimed in 2015 by ex- PAC chairman Datuk Hasan Arifin.

When questioned on why the PAC did not call former PM Najib Razak to testify before the committee regarding the infamous 1MDB scandal, Hasan stated “Janganlah, saya pun nak cari makan juga!”.

It’s no secret, reforms to the PAC could only be carried out after the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government was elected by the voters in 2018. 

For the first time in Malaysian history an opposition MP, Ronald Kiandee was allowed to head the committee under PH. His successor, MP for Parit, Noraini Ahmad was the first woman to hold the post in 60 years since the creation of the PAC.

None of this would have been possible without PH’s strong commitment towards strengthening and reforming the PAC.

Even though the PH government was short-lived, we managed to carry out as many reforms as possible in order for the nation and its people to benefit in the long-term. 

Teo Nie Ching
Kulai Member of Parliament
DAP National Publicity Secretary