Speaker rejects Syed Saddiq's bid to debate LCS fiasco

An emergency motion to debate the littoral combat ships (LCS) project scandal was rejected by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Johari Abdul.

Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said he submitted a proposal for the motion on June 2 and received a response this morning.

The speaker responded by saying the issue is not of public interest and not of urgent need, he said.

"I understand that according to Regulation 18 Section 5, decisions cannot be appealed here, but there is a possibility to discuss this at Special Chambers," he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

The LCS project, which involves the construction of six offshore combatant vessels for the country's navy under the administration of former prime minister Najib Razak, has been embroiled in a scandal, prompting an investigation into the overall management of the project.

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was the defence minister at that time.

Syed Saddiq added that even though only five minutes are allocated, it is crucial to hear a detailed explanation from the defence ministry on the matter.

He further said that while construction costs was previously said to be between RM6 billion and RM9 billion, most recently, however, it was announced that an additional cost of RM2.1 billion is required.

This raises questions of why the issue has been frequently discussed if deemed not urgent, and why there have been no additional prosecutions since the scandal was exposed.

"Billions of ringgit have been spent, (but) not even one ship was delivered, and the number of ships were also reduced.

"I hope the speaker reconsiders his decision because there is an urgent need to discuss this. It's a matter involving billions of public money and issues of sovereignty and national security.

"Government or opposition, justice does not discriminate," he added.

Meanwhile, Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Ramli Mohd Noor said Syed Saddiq should use the existing rulings to appeal on the decision.

Earlier, Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari said the ministry is always open to discussing the scandal.

"Investigation can be carried out at any time, and the defence ministry will cooperate," he said.