Not plain sailing to resolve navy’s problem, says Hishammuddin
Defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein speaking to reporters after visiting Lok Kawi camp in Kota Kinabalu today. (Bernama pic)
KOTA KINABALU: All stakeholders must be on the same page to resolve the navy’s problem of an outdated fleet, defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein said today.
He said all parties involved, including the defence ministry, finance ministry and the military, must know what needs to be prioritised in matters related to national defence and in caring for the welfare of military personnel.
“We cannot be talking about (defence) assets today but at the same time we want to find billions of ringgit to build houses for our members, hospitals for the military and schools for our members’ children.
“Maintenance is also an issue.
“We have several assets but don’t have the money for maintenance, so whatever approach we take to solve the issue, it must be comprehensive and revolve around the country’s stability.
“If the country is stable, it is easy for us to make plans,” he said at a media conference during his visit to Lok Kawi Camp here.
Yesterday, navy chief Mohd Reza Mohd Sany had said insufficient provisions affect the ability to maintain a high security alert level and to act against any threat.
Hishammuddin said to overcome the issue of obsolete assets, the government is currently working on procuring a second fleet of littoral mission ships equipped with the appropriate weapons.
“Our plan to resolve the littoral combat ship issue is ongoing but while waiting for this, I am working on the next littoral mission ship fleet,” he said.
The fourth and the last of the LMS ships, KD Rencong, was commissioned on Jan 28 this year and is part of the 11th LMS Squadron together with KD Keris, KD Sundang and KD Badik at Kota Kinabalu naval base.
KOTA KINABALU: All stakeholders must be on the same page to resolve the navy’s problem of an outdated fleet, defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein said today.
He said all parties involved, including the defence ministry, finance ministry and the military, must know what needs to be prioritised in matters related to national defence and in caring for the welfare of military personnel.
“We cannot be talking about (defence) assets today but at the same time we want to find billions of ringgit to build houses for our members, hospitals for the military and schools for our members’ children.
“Maintenance is also an issue.
“We have several assets but don’t have the money for maintenance, so whatever approach we take to solve the issue, it must be comprehensive and revolve around the country’s stability.
“If the country is stable, it is easy for us to make plans,” he said at a media conference during his visit to Lok Kawi Camp here.
Yesterday, navy chief Mohd Reza Mohd Sany had said insufficient provisions affect the ability to maintain a high security alert level and to act against any threat.
Hishammuddin said to overcome the issue of obsolete assets, the government is currently working on procuring a second fleet of littoral mission ships equipped with the appropriate weapons.
“Our plan to resolve the littoral combat ship issue is ongoing but while waiting for this, I am working on the next littoral mission ship fleet,” he said.
The fourth and the last of the LMS ships, KD Rencong, was commissioned on Jan 28 this year and is part of the 11th LMS Squadron together with KD Keris, KD Sundang and KD Badik at Kota Kinabalu naval base.
If Hishamuddin is serious about resolving these naval problems, he can start by ensuring better action is taken by the MACC regarding the LCS scandal. More people ought to be prosecuted.
ReplyDeleteAs it is, he seems content to only highlight the first of six ships will be ready within two years. It is as though it is a great achievement on his part that he managed to get the builders to commit to the deadline; never mind the scandal of long delayed delivery dates after a good amount of payment was already made.
On top of that, the cost is now about MR11 bil!
Perhaps Hadi can find some nons to blame for the massive corruption involved.
Keri's Hisham is part of the dishonesty and lies that are at the bottom of the LCS scandal
ReplyDelete