Hisham: Defence industry players not swayed by opposition politics
KUALA LUMPUR: The presence of Asean defence ministers and their delegates at Malaysia’s premier international defence exhibition proves that the defence industry players are not easily influenced by the seasonal politics of the Opposition, says Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
He said politics should not influence the security, stability and standing of countries in the Asean region.
Global security, he added, outweighed political issues and should not be taken lightly.
“Many things that we do concerning security is dependent on the network of the major defence industry players,” he said, adding that it involves many parties, both within the country and overseas.
“It is connected to diplomatic ties between the defence ministers of other countries. With the coming 14th General Election, our friends are hoping to see a bigger agenda which goes beyond politics.
“When it comes to the nation’s security and defence, there can be no compromise,” he said at a press conference during the Defence Services Asia (DSA) and National Security Asia (NatSec Asia) exhibition held at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (Mitec) yesterday.
Hishammuddin said based on input from the exhibitors and in bilateral meetings, he found that the DSA has been successful because of political stability, prosperity, religious diversity and concept of wasatiyyah (moderation) in this country.
He also announced that the next edition of DSA and NatSec Asia will be held from April 20 to 23, 2020, at Mitec.
On the exhibition, Hishammuddin said the expo has surpassed expectations, with various deals signed.
A total of RM17.8bil of contracts and MoUs have been signed.
Also signed were six offset programmes worth RM14.4bil, aimed to help build the national defence industry.
The four-day show, which began on Monday, drew about 1,500 defence-related companies and 350 delegates from 45 countries, including South Korea, China, Japan, Australia, Pakistan, Russia and Indonesia.