COMMENT | On May 26, it was reported that Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS), a subsidiary of Boustead Holding Berhad (BHB) signed a sixth supplemental contract for the procurement of the littoral combat ships (LCS), reducing the deliverables from six ships to five, but ballooning the total cost of the project from RM9.13 billion to RM 11.2 billion.

It was also announced that the Ministry of Finance (MOF) established a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to take over BNS as a subsidiary, essentially giving MOF greater control over the project and also enacting more accountability measures to ensure the project’s completion.

The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) acknowledges that this is a step in the right direction in order to ensure that the project does not encounter further obstacles and delays.

However, C4 Center also questions why those responsible for the project’s catastrophic failures...