KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): The government has agreed that the Boustead Group will continue with the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) project that has been delayed since 2019 with conditions to be complied with by the company, says Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
The Defence Minister said this was decided at the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday (May 5).
He said the continuation of the construction project would protect 1,600 local workers from losing their jobs and more than 400 vendors comprising Bumiputera SMEs. If the construction of this LCS is not continued, it will have a negative impact on the workers and the Bumiputera vendors involved.
LUMUT (April 26): The Defence Ministry plans to add 13 more Fast Interceptor Crafts (FIC) costing over RM120 million to further strengthen the security of Malaysia’s waters.
Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) has received six such boats worth RM80 million on March 19.
“This is the first phase of the FIC delivery and we plan to add another 13 soon. The FICs will help the entire team, not only under Op Benteng but also other (security) tasks,” he told a media conference after watching an FIC demonstration at Jeti Peluru, Lumut naval base today.
2 more Littoral Mission Ships to be stationed in Sabah 05 Mar 2021 / 16:20 H. Pix for representational purpose only. Bernama
KOTA KINABALU: Two more Royal Malaysian Navy’s Littoral Mission Ships (LMS) will be stationed at the Eastern Fleet Command Headquarters, Kota Kinabalu Naval Base to further tighten the security in the country’s waters, especially in Sabah.
Chief of Navy Tan Sri Mohd Reza Mohd Sany said two ships had been stationed in Sabah, so far, namely KD Keris and KD Sundang.
“The other two LMS ships are expected to arrive in Malaysia in October and December. We also have plans to acquire several more LMS ships but we have not yet determined the type and the manufacturer,“ he told reporters after the commissioning ceremony of the second LMS, KD Sundang here today.
IN 2019, Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) set a goal to reduce its heavy dependence on dividend income from the listed Boustead group of companies as part of its plan to rebalance its investment portfolio. Two years on, it seems no closer to realising that goal after it aborted its plan to take Boustead Holdings Bhd private last week.
The proposed privatisation was mooted by LTAT last May in what was seen as an important step for the armed forces pension fund to support the potential restructuring of the loss-making diversified conglomerate’s businesses away from the scrutiny of public shareholders and regulators. The proposal is now entirely off the table and attention has now shifted to Boustead to turn itself around.
AFTER incurring three consecutive years of net losses, Boustead Holdings Bhd
, which is majority owned by the Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT), still continues to find itself in turbulent waters.
The company, which has business interests in various sectors of the economy but is struggling to return to profitability in the near term, also builds combat ships for the country’s navy and is 59.4% owned by the LTAT.
In an interview with StarBizWeek, group managing director Datuk Seri Mohammed Shazalli Ramly, (pic) who had taken over the helm in December 2020, says the outlook will remain challenging for the time being.