The PAC report also found that insufficient due diligence was done by the government of the time on BNS’ financial state and that there were critical weaknesses in its internal management of the same, among other things.

What is very grating is that the current government appears to be treating this scandal as if it was something completely unrelated to them, when it is a fact that several of its leaders were in the cabinet (and a few are currently still in it) during the last BN government under which the abuses occurred.

At the very least, they should be candid about what they did or did not do, and what they thought and did not think about the LCS saga as it unfolded after their watch.

It is true several individuals have now been arrested by the MACC and there may be more.

However, to date, no one yet has been charged for the scandal.

BN - and now this strange, hybrid government we have over us - own this failure.

'Don't gaslight rakyat'

I will have more to say about the LCS future. However, I would like to conclude for now by saying that the responsible parties should not gaslight the rakyat. Rather, they should take responsibility for the failures which the PAC has now exposed.

Those proven to have committed wrongdoing must be brought to justice.

However, above and beyond this, there must also be political responsibility and liability for this fiasco, right to the top of the government, considering that this sad and sorry saga has arguably negatively impacted Malaysia’s ability to defend itself.

The government has promised to investigate LCS transparently. But we see too many military procurements end up with improprieties and delays, and it has become a norm.

Too often junior personalities end up as scapegoats whereas those politically and professionally responsible are let off the hook.

In an era of intense superpower rivalry, this failure and negligence is a gross betrayal to our soldiers and rakyat.