Defence Ministry to prepare White Paper on plans to boost security

KUALA LUMPUR: The Defence Ministry will prepare a White Paper to inform the public on its priorities and plans to bolster security in the country.

Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu said this in his policy speech during an internal event at Wisma Pertahanan here yesterday morning.

His deputy, Liew Chin Tong, said the preparation of the White Paper was new to the country, although the commissioning of the authoritative document had been a common practice in many democratic nations.

“Defence and security are not confined to the ministry, but an effort that includes the involvement of society at large.

“We appreciate the input in the process of drafting the defence White Paper for Malaysia,” he said at the closing of the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals’ (IACSP) second annual Asean Security Symposium here yesterday.

Liew said the White Paper was expected to outline the ministry’s capacity and capabilities, as well as the assets required to face challenges and counter perceived threats.

Asked if there was any deadline for the White Paper, Liew said the ministry had yet to fix one.

Earlier, Liew said efforts to combat terrorism and radicalisation required a collective effort involving the government, security agencies, businesses and civil society.

On another matter, Mohamad said the ministry was proposing that the government extend the operations of the Malaysian Field Hospital in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, by another year.

He said the hospital was scheduled to terminate its services on Dec 31 this year.

In a separate development, Mohamad said the ministry would send a peace mission from Batalion Malaysia (Malbatt) 850-6 on Sept 6 to take over from Malbatt 850-5, whose term ends on Sept 24.

Malbatt 850-6 will continue the mission for another year.