Malaysia's defence minister says the completion of the first Littoral Combat Ship will not be held up by the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the programme's long delays. Speaking in Kota Tinggi on 11 October, he made clear the inquiry and the ship's delivery are being treated as separate tracks by the government. The planned RCI is meant to examine the years of holdups and cost overruns that have plagued the LCS acquisition since it was signed. The minister's message to the shipbuilder was blunt: speed up the work, because the country wants the vessel delivered. The first of the six contracted ships has been subject to repeated postponements, making its completion a political sore point. Questions about who is accountable for the wasted years and money remain open while the inquiry takes shape. Parliament and the public have pressed for answers on the programme since revelations about its mismanagement emerged. The next benchmark to watch is whether the contractor hits its revised schedule or asks for yet another extension.