Govt urged to stop shadowy multi-billion deal with Sapura
Harakahdaily
Sep 9: The Defence and Finance ministries have been urged to halt the RM2 billion ‘Network Centric Operation’ (NCO) awarded to to Sapura Secured Technologies.
PKR vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar (left) claimed that to date, the NCO project, meant to integrate applications, control systems as well as weaponry for army, had not produced a roadmap or a programme plan in the framework of the country’s defence.
Izzah questioned whether in the absence of such a roadmap, the cost of the project will rise.
"Who will then make profit when there is no limit to a spending budget for the NCO,” she asked during a press conference held outside the Defence Ministry yesterday.
Last month, PKR's communication director Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad questioned the need for the NCO programme when a similar system had already been in place.
“We understand that ATM already has a similar system in place developed a few years back. Furthermore, the project had drawn flak from the entire ATM officers themselves, and their concern has been ignored by those who instructed the project to be continued," he stated, adding that the ability of Sapura to carry out the project should also be doubted because the company did not possess technical expertise to implement the project.
On the other hand, Izzah explained that the General Service Requirement (GSR) which covered every hardware and software requirement in the NCO had yet to be completed and approved.
She pointed out that the project did not go through the process of check and balance, adding that such a case would lead to failure.
The Lembah Pantai member of parliament also claimed that the existing 'Command and Control' (C2) system currently in use by the armed forces was still in practice, adding that her party had been made to understand that Sapura "insists to develop a new C2 system."
"How can the Defence Ministry allow Sapura to be so insistent, without taking into consideration the findings of the report?" asked Izzah.
Her party colleague Tian Chua questioned whether the spending spree in military equipments was now the government’s priority.
“The move has questioned by army officers themselves. It seems that there is a trend of buying military equipment exceeding the current need,” he added.
Sapura Secured Technologies, an amalgamation of six Sapura subsidiaries which includes Sapura Defence, Sapura Research, Sapura-LTAT Communications Technologies, Sapura Transmission, Sapura Advanced Systems and Sapura Thales Electronics, is headed by Rodzlan Akib Abu Bakar.
In 2007, the company denied that it was in discussion to supply 3,000 surveillance cameras to the government in a contract said to be worth RM1 billion.
Related:
Defence ministry's multi-billion deal involving Sapura questioned
（吉隆坡8日訊）公正黨指稱國防部在未經公開招標下，把耗資20億令吉的國防衛隊“網絡中心操作”系統（NCO）工程，直接頒給沙布拉保安科技私人有限公司，是一項政治決定。
兩名公正黨副主席努魯依莎和蔡添強今日在國防部大廈面前召開新聞發佈會表示，據他們瞭解，國防部是在數個星期前把這項工程頒佈給沙布拉公司，合約期限長達10至15年。然而，這項工程並沒有“路線圖”，包括國家未來需要的國防架構。
【世華‧社會】法國掀“便利貼大戰”，卡通圖案湧現辦公樓玻璃窗！
首相應終止工程
兩人促請防長和首相兼財政部長拿督斯里納吉，為了國防衛隊和馬來人的前途，應該終止這項工程，直到解答上述疑問為止。
努魯依莎指表示，這項工程計劃缺乏透明度，並質問阿末扎希為何能夠對這些弱點坐視不理。
努魯依莎也說，針對P4系統（管理、控制、聯絡與情報）所進行的指揮與管制（C2）技術可行性研究仍在進行中，但據瞭解，Sapura公司堅持要設立一個全新的C2系統。
指工程一開始就沒方向
“為甚麼國防部可在沒考慮調查報告的情況下，允許設立新C2系統？為何要研發這個網絡中心作戰系統，也沒有完成‘普通服務要求規格’？”
“網絡中心作戰系統旨在整合武裝部隊所有的系統應用程序、感應器、武器、指揮與管制系統。這項工程從一開始便沒有方向，談甚麼效果呢？
如果沒有‘路線圖’，這是否意味這項工程的成本將會飆漲？”
蔡添強指出，據悉，在“網絡中心操作”系統下的“普通服務要求規格（GSR）仍未完成，以鑒定網絡中心作戰系統的硬軟體需求。
他表示，據他瞭解，國防部此舉已經招惹軍隊的內部反彈。
（星洲日報）
