The opposition has alleged corruption in some major defence deals, including the $1.1 billion dollar purchase of two Scorpene submarines from French shipbuilder DCN.

The Malaysian government has denied claims that a large kickback was paid to secure the deal, but the case is being probed by French authorities.

Malaysia is now planning to buy six littoral combat ships (LCS), to be built by local shipbuilder Boustead Naval Shipyard, at a cost of over 6.0 billion ringgit ($1.97 billion), according to state media.

"The cost covers the overall cost of building the LCS including the aspects of sophisticated weaponry, sensing and radar equipment that have very high capability and also sonar to detect enemy submarines," Royal Malaysian Navy chief Abdul Aziz Jaafar said Wednesday.

"The national defence industry is growing and depends a lot on foreign expertise and this is the main reason why the LCS cost so much," he said.

Opposition lawmaker Tony Pua asked the government to reconsider the plan and explain the need for the warships.

"All these previous deals don't give confidence to Malaysians that the ministry is able to prudently control its expenditure," he told a press conference.

"Given the size of the deal which is as huge as three percent of our annual budget, it definitely worth greater scrutiny."

The government's bid last year to buy new fighter jets to replace its ageing Russian-made MiG aircraft also attracted criticism from influential ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad, who said it was a waste of money.

The purchase was postponed due to the economic downturn.

Malaysia was also dealt with a major embarrassment last year after two of its US-made fighter jet engines were stolen from an air force base, and an audit later found equipment worth millions of ringgit was missing.

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