Zainab Mohd Salleh is 'not my wife', says Cabinet minister allegedly linked to LCS scandal
22 Aug 2022 02:16pm
Minister in Prime Minister's department Abd Latiff Ahmad
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SHAH ALAM - Minister in Prime Minister's department Abd Latiff Ahmad has denied news reports claiming his wife was the owner of two companies that allegedly misappropriated funds for the RM9 billion littoral combat ship (LCS) project.
In a brief statement, the minister said Zainab Mohd Salleh is "not my wife" as stated in the news portal.
"As a Cabinet minister, I am ready to give full cooperation if the authorities want to conduct further investigations," he said.
A news portal had named Zainab as one of the owners who it claimed was the spouse of the Mersing MP.
Latiff was appointed as minister in the Prime Minister's Department after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob took office from Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in August last year.
In another statement PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli had said a federal minister’s wife has been named as the owner of two companies that allegedly misappropriated the funds from the LCS project.
He had claimed that the two companies bore names similar to a French company. The companies were registered as offshore companies in Malta and Labuan.
On Aug 8, Rafizi had also claimed he was in possession of leaked documents that gave the impression that a deal for the LCS was “pre-determined” even before the government signed its agreement with Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (BNS).
He said these documents, as well as the defence ministry and BNS’ dismissal of the navy’s views on the design of the ships, suggested political interference in the procurement of the ships.
Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee. had said the LCS project for the navy has come under scrutiny due to its cost and delay in delivery after government had spent RM6.08 billion but none of the six ships have been completed or delivered.
