DEFENCE INDUSTRY AS AN ECONOMIC CATALYST
Stronger checks and balances, policy clarity and consistency are vital in defence procurement
MOST long-time watchers of the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2019 agreed that this is the best show ever since its inception in 1991. But New Malaysia needs to aim higher. As a nation, we need to find a formula to develop a genuine and strong Malaysian defence industry, which will serve as a catalyst for the economy.
This year’s Lima has a special feel in part because Langkawi is where Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad made his most dramatic political comeback at such an advanced age.
When Dr Mahathir bucked the Mahsuri curse to develop Langkawi, no one would have expected that he would seek the residents’ help one day, and with their support, lead the nation on a comeback act to rise again.
Many don’t recall that Dr Mahathir was also a defence minister between 1981 and 1986 with some indepth understanding of what needs to be done to defend national interests.
In hindsight, to organise an international airshow with the aim of building a domestic aerospace and defence industry in 1991 when Langkawi didn’t even have an international airport was indeed visionary.
means that in time of war or crisis, a nation has the engineering capabilities across the board to fend for itself.
Of course, at the end of all these, a strong industry’s ultimate aim is to create decent jobs for Malaysians. Malaysia’s defence industry has come very far since the first Lima. But, I would contend, not far enough. We can do more than what we have done thus far if we organise ourselves better and unleash our people’s full potential.
In my capacity as deputy defence minister, I visited twothirds of the booths at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre and came away with two observations.
FIRST, Malaysia lacks exportable brands and products. The exhibition feels more like a show for foreign big brands selling us something that we may or may not need.
South Korea, Turkey, Indonesia and Singapore are examples of countries which had very little defence industry 30 years ago, but now boast of an impressive list of products to export just over a generation’s time — something that Dr Mahathir clearly foresaw with his Lima vision, though the nation did not achieve as hoped.
SECOND, more than half of the exhibition is about a computer system, which is a great entry point for Malaysia to make an impact in the quickest way.
We don’t need to build a full plane or even a flying car to arrive at our goal to have more Malaysian innovations and products of world’s quality.
Some deeper integrations between the defence industry and the Kuala Lumpur-Cyberjaya ICT industry as well as Penang-Kulim electronics and electrical industry are the place to start.
One perennial question concerning the defence industry is whether Malaysia is just a mere trader or we can be a producer of exportable goods. To put it crudely, most of what we have in the industry are “commission agents” or “postmen” who sell arms as a local agent to the Defence Ministry and the Malaysian armed forces on behalf of foreign original manufacturers.
Some just have a small office in town with a skeleton staff, but make huge bucks out of a relationship with one of the former defence ministers or some generals. Razak Baginda (Perimaker) in the Scorpene deal is an extreme case in point.
Industry players complain that they can’t invest in R&D as well as productive capacity if the government procures on whims and fancies of ministers or generals.
On the other hand, generals and the final users — our soldiers — may dislike some local products because they don’t live up to the required standards.
A lousy product can mean loss of many lives in wars or operations.
This egg-and-chicken question has to be solved before we can move further. The new government needs to put in place stronger checks and balances, policy clarity, as well as consistency in our defence procurement, which I hope the Defence White Paper process can play a role.