Kuala Lumpur: Tuaran Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau has questioned the actual combat readiness of five Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), the financial implications of replacing their surface-to-surface missiles, and the accountability mechanisms in place should the revised delivery timelines fail again.
Citing a parliamentary written reply from the Defence Ministry, Madius noted that overall construction progress stood at 80.72 per cent as of Sept 25 against a scheduled target of 89.91 per cent, representing a delay of 9.19 percentage points.
He stressed that physical delivery by shipbuilder Lumut Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (Lunas)—slated between April 2027 and April 2029—must not be equated with full operational combat capability, pointing out that the reply failed to specify when the vessels would be commissioned and ready for active duty.
On armaments and expenditure, the Upko honorary president sought clarification on whether replacing the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) with one of three options under review would incur extra costs beyond the RM11.227 billion contract, of which RM8.96 billion (79.82 per cent) has been claimed by Lunas.
Madius urged the Defence Ministry to provide transparent details regarding potential additional expenses, the exact status of the funds claimed, and the contractual actions to be taken against responsible parties if further delays occur.
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