In 2022 just before the 15th General Election, the Malaysian government declassified the Public Accounting Committee report on the status of the Royal Malaysian Navy's (RMN) Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) programme. The declassified report recommended the government take legal action against the people behind the fiasco and even suggested the possibility of a criminal case.
The History
The Name
In 2015, the Malaysian government awarded Boustead Naval Shipyard (BNS) a contract to build six Second-Generation Patrol Vessels (SGPV). The government subsequently renamed the Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) programme, probably riding on the hype of the US Navy's Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship programme. Either way, SGPV or LCS, the names do not bode well for the programme, a foreboding of the scandal; the problem-laden USN LCS caused many problems that they decided to retire the ships, and the SGPV implied that the programme was a further development to another past scandalous Next-Generation Patrol Vessel programme.
Past Failure
The appointment of BNS raised eyebrows as previously; they had failed to deliver six NGPVs on time. The government then had to intervene and financially rescue the programme, condemning the original plan to procure 27 German-designed Meko 100 ships to replace the ageing ships that the Navy was operating.
Selection of the Gowind Design
Another eyebrow-raising decision was the selection of the French Gowind design. The issue with the last-minute changes from the Sigma-class design to the Gowind design is one of the least concerning. While the Sigma design's initial selection might make sense to others, it doesn't make sense, which we will delve into shortly.
The programme's original name, the SGPV, implied the contract would be for additional Meko 100-designed ships, known as the Kedah-class in the Navy. To facilitate the procurement of the original NGPV, the company, then known as PSC Naval Dockyard, bought the blueprint and license for the Meko 100 design. The selection of the Gowind design further boggles the mind because the company also bought the license and blueprint for the Gowind.
The argument was that the Gowind design was more stealthy than the Meko 100 design. However, Thysennkrupp Marine System proved that the design still has some legs as they unveiled a more stealthy Meko 300 design at the Euronaval show in October 2022.
The Egyptian Gowind
On the other hand, selecting the Gowind design may have revealed one unintended consequence. In 2014, the Egyptian government awarded DCNS the contract to design and build four Gowind-class ships for the Egyptian Navy. It appointed a local shipyard, Alexandria Shipyard, to build the vessels. The shipyard delivered the first ship, ENS El-Fateh, in 2017.
Contrast this with BNS. The Malaysian government selected the design in 2011. BNS would begin to build the ship in 2015, with the first ship targeted to be ready by April 2019. In reality, the company has yet to complete any of the contracted vessels, repeating the NGPV fiasco.
During the period, there was a peaceful change of government in Malaysia. In comparison, Egypt had just emerged from a coup d'etat that threw out the Islamic Brotherhood. Yet, they did it right while ours went wrong.
The Elephant in the Room
Yet, all this information, which would easily cause an overload, only diverts us from the main issue. Why did the Navy need to buy the LCS in the first place?
If we dig deeper into this rabbit hole, we will realise that the Navy had to buy new vessels as the existing Navy vessels are fast approaching obsolescence. Had the NGPV procurement gone perfectly well, the Navy would have 27 new patrol vessels that would easily patrol our sovereign waters and exclusive economic zones. The Navy would not need to procure the 6 Gowind-class ships. The government could have financed upgrading the Kedah-class NGPVs, now proverbially naked. Not only that, the government had bought only six ships, but they also did not procure the advanced weaponry to go with it.
Now, the question is, would the government have the political will to do the digging?
Danny Liew is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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