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Abū al-Abbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Muʿādh ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Tighnari was an Andalusian poet and agriculturist of the 12th century. His only known work is the agronomical treatise entitled Zuhrat al-Bustān wa-Nuzhat al-Adhhān (Arabic: زهرة البستان ونزهة الأذهان, lit. 'The Glory of the Garden and Recreation of the Minds').

Al-Tighnari wrote in a terse, spare style and was considered a fine writer. He travelled throughout the Middle East and documented the agricultural methods and practices he observed. This information was used by other authors, such as Ibn al-'Awwam and Ibn Luyun, as a source for their own works.

The Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) scandal involved an approximately RM6 billion procurement of six littoral combat ships (LCS) for the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) during the administration of then-Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak. The scandal was revealed after an audit report was presented by the Public Accounts Committee. The project was suspended in 2019 and resumed in 2022.

Background
The project to build six littoral combat ships (LCS) was awarded to Boustead Heavy Industries Corp Bhd’s (BHIC) subsidiary in 2011. The project has been beleaguered with cost overruns and delays, without a single vessel delivered as of August 2022. Discussions on the project's variation orders and additional costs took centre stage following the change in government in 2018. The project was suspended the following year, pending the outcome of negotiations.

In October 2019, then defence minister Muhammad Sabu told the Dewan Rakyat that the project was 55.7% completed as at third quarter of 2019, as opposed to its completion target of 78%. Consequently, the first vessel would be delivered three years later than the April 2019 deadline. It was also revealed that the project’s contract value came to RM9.1286 billion, and that the additional cost to complete all six vessels amounted to RM1.4 billion, or RM10.63 billion in total.

In August 2020, then senior minister (defence) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob told the Dewan Rakyat of a plan to cap the project cost at RM9 billion — but for just two vessels, to be done either by BNS or another company. Meanwhile, Boustead Holdings Bhd (BHB) submitted a proposal to the government. It was tabled at a cabinet meeting in May 2021. In March 2022, the government decided to continue with the project.

PAC's revelation
The Parliamentary PAC report in 4 August 2022 has found that the LCS project contract was awarded to the company Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn. Bhd (BNS) through direct negotiation. The government has paid a total of RM6.083 billion for the LCS project, but no LCS ships have been completed. The BNS company has appointed Contravest Advanced Devices and Contravest Electrodynamics Devices to buy equipment from an Original Equipment Manufacturer, which has caused the cost of purchases to multiply. The terms of the contract are weak and not in favor of the government. The payment received from the government by BNS has not been used for the LCS project entirely, causing BNS to face a cost overrun. Equipment kept in storage for the LCS project is estimated at RM1.7 billion and an estimated 15% is already obsolete. The PAC report revealed that the first LCS belonging that was launched in 2017 was actually not ready. The ship was only 44 percent complete at the time of the launch. The naming and launching ceremony of the ship was just for show and the additional cost for the mast installed on the LCS 1 during the ceremony was RM400,000.

The Parliamentary PAC has recommended that the Ministry of Defense declassify the JKSTUPKK report on the procurement of six Second Generation Patrol Vessels (SGPVs), Littoral Capable of Royal Malaysian Navy, and that the LCS ship design selection change incident from SIGMA to GOWIND be used as a lesson for future procurements. The PAC has also recommended that the Ministry of Defense present a procurement plan to the Special Select Committee on Defense and Security Parliament from time to time, and that the administration of government contracts be streamlined to minimize Work Change Orders (WCOs).

Bukit Mertajam MP, Steven Sim, thinks that Najib Razak, the prime minister at the time, and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the defense minister, conspired to give an advantage to the company that supplied the ships, DCNS. This company was already embroiled in a corruption scandal involving two other types of ships, the Scorpene and Agosta submarines. He thinks that Najib and Zahid knew about this company's corruption and still chose to work with them.

Government's reaction
The Malaysian government is investigating possible corruption in a project to build ships for the country's navy. The government has established a special administrative committee to closely monitor the situation and report all developments to the Cabinet.

Rafizi Ramli
According to PKR deputy president, Rafizi Ramli, it is believed that RM890 million has been misappropriated from the project through fraud, money transferred to parties with the aim of defrauding the contract, duplicate contracts, and other irregularities. He added that the Minister of Defense at the time the project was awarded and the Minister of Defense at the time the final contract was signed have both been made aware of the irregularities but have not taken any action. He said this scandal is important because it involves the misappropriation of public funds and the neglect of national defense.

In 2012, the Malaysian government contracted Boustead Naval Shipyard (BNS) to build two ships. BNS then appointed Contraves Advanced Devices Sdn Bhd (CAD) as a subcontractor to help with the construction. CAD then appointed its associate company, Contraves Electrodynamics Sdn Bhd (CED), as a sub-subcontractor. CED then contracted with DCNS, the company that was originally supposed to be the main contractor, to supply the materials and expertise for the construction.

The problem is that CED only paid DCNS RM397 million for the work, even though the Malaysian government is paying CED RM1.185 billion. This means that somebody is pocketing a 200% commission on the work that DCNS is doing.