RESTRUCTURING OF LCS PROJECT WILL RESTORE, STRENGTHEN MALAYSIA'S MARITIME ECOSYSTEM - MASTRA

KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Strategic Maritime Association (Mastra) sees the restructuring of the implementation of the littoral combat ship (LCS) project as a golden opportunity to restore and strengthen Malaysia's tarnished maritime ecosystem in general.

Mastra also recommends that the parties involved appoint company directors from among those who have competence and integrity and that “an appointments committee be established to approve appointments to important and strategic positions as an action to strengthen governance structure," the association said in a statement.

On May 26, Boustead Holding Bhd (BHB) through its subsidiary, Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS), signed a sixth additional contract agreement with the Ministry of Defence.

According to BHB chairman Datuk Nazim Rahman, the agreement, among other things, details the project handover and governance in restoring the LCS project.

According to Nazim, the agreement is the result of a comprehensive review involving various options and all aspects of the project by various ministries and agencies under the government and BNS, with the sole aim of the contract being to revive the LCS project, in line with the Armada Transformation Plan by the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN).

Under this agreement, various preventive measures have been implemented to ensure that the LCS is delivered on time and within the allocated budget, Nazim said.

It includes the formation of a project monitoring committee, jointly chaired by the chief secretary of the Treasury and the chief secretary of the Ministry of Defence to strengthen the implementation and supervision of project delivery to ensure that past failures do not happen again.

-- BERNAMA