KUALA LUMPUR, April 6 — The delay in the construction of the littoral combat ship (LCS) will not affect the ship’s capabilities, particularly its engines and other equipment that have been purchased earlier, the Dewan Negara sitting was told today.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the LCS diesel engine obtained from MTU Services of Germany was always tested and in good condition with no issues.
“There is no issue with the engine, we use the same one, along with the gearbox, the shaft and the propeller, which will determine the speed and how the ship will be operated later.
“However, we need to upgrade, modify and add value to the CMS (Communication Management System), because (the old ones) use a lot of switches that need to be improved…we have also changed the type of missile we want to use, we now use the one from Norway,” he said.
Mohamad was responding to a supplementary question from Senator Datuk Ahmad Azam Hamzah, who wanted to know whether the delay in the construction of the LCS affected the ship’s capabilities during the question and answer session.
Meanwhile, he said the ministry will not compromise with any party in matters involving investigations into the LCS construction project.
“We have agreed to eliminate a company that serves as a middleman. There is only one caveat, and that is if they ask to be excluded from any future actions.
“We do not want to compromise on that; for us at the Defence Ministry, it is up to the investigating agency… and the prosecuting agency is not under the purview of the ministry, so whoever will be investigated is up to them,” Mohamad said.
The ministry has agreed to sign the Universal Settlement Agreement to resolve the matter related to the middleman.
— Bernama
