Check your facts, Hisham tells Defence Ministry
Defence Ministry should check its facts before proposing a budget.
Former defence minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said this while drawing on Pakatan Harapan’s goals to purchase military assets on its restricted budget.
He said the budget was reduced by RM2 billion this time, with the maintenance allocation slashed by 84 per cent.
“I’m worried about the budget. I think what they said in black and white must tally with what’s on the table, as well as what’s being presented in Parliament.
“How are they going to convince people that the assets can be bought when we couldn’t buy them before?” Hishammuddin said at the Parliament lobby yesterday.
He said the people were not given details on the breakdown of services required for the army, navy and the Air Force to substantiate the budget.
“I have not seen the minister’s statements on how the assets can be financed using the allocation.
“And I don’t see how maintenance can be balanced with other priorities within the ministry,” he said, adding that the direction was unclear and far removed from PH’s pledge to be transparent.
He said while Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu had said Sabah would be protected, he claimed that there was no allocation for Lahad Datu.
“And now, we are talking about the number of offshore bases which have been reduced.
“All the figures are available for everybody to see.”
He said while Mohamad had said the ministry would uphold defence diplomacy, the trilateral agreement that was set up with Indonesia and the Philippines for joint patrols in the Sulu Sea appeared to have been sidelined. “I don’t see that happening.” On another matter, Hishammuddin said he had yet to travel to China, but was in communication with leaders there to determine the whereabouts of fugitive businessman Low Taek Jho or Jho Low.