Consider This: Navy Ships Scandal (Part 2) — LCS, Impetus to Improve Procurement?

Public attention has been dominated by yet another multi-billion ringgit scandal -- this time involving the largest defence procurement for the RM9 billion Royal Malaysian Navy’s littoral combat ship project. The Public Accounts Committee found that the government had paid more than RM6 billion for the LCS project, but not a single ship has yet been delivered. Where do we go from here? And will the LCS project serve as a wake-up call for the government to make a more serious effort to reform Malaysia’s public procurement system? Melisa Idris speaks to Sri Murniati Yusuf, Deputy Research Director at the Institute of Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS). She is also author of the IDEAS Policy Paper titled “Improving Direct Negotiation rules in Malaysia”.