White Paper to chart future of defence plans
Mat Sabu: We are not at war but need to prepare for natural disasters
KUALA LUMPUR: A White Paper that is being fine-tuned by the Defence Ministry will chart Malaysia’s defence plans and policies for the next 10 years and beyond.
Among others, the Defence White Paper would take into account the need to procure defence assets that could be utilised during emergencies such as natural disasters, said Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu.
“In general, Malaysia is similar to Japan in terms of defence expenditure and budget. They are not at war but their defence budget is high.
“This is because they are procuring assets in preparing for natural disasters. We need to be well prepared in that sense as well,” he told a special media interview to mark Pakatan Harapan’s first year anniversary in forming the government.
Mohamad, better known as Mat Sabu, said the White Paper, which is expected to be tabled in Parliament in October, would take into account the short-term and long-term aspects of the nation’s defence policy, apart from providing a comprehensive explanation to the people.
“We have held townhall meetings and dialogues with stakeholders, including defence experts and academicians.”
“Now it is at the last stage of fine-tuning,” he added.
Explaining the White Paper in layman’s terms, Mohamad likened it to having a checklist before going shopping at the minimarket.
“It is our preparation before we embark on the implementation of defence policies.”
“The White Paper will shape the direction of our defence policies and system for the next 10 years, maybe more,” he said.
Mohamad also said that efforts to rectify the mistakes of the previous government have begun, including the RM500mil losses suffered by the ministry through land swap deals.
“We have completed the investigations after six months. The Cabinet has also decided to make the report available to the public soon,” he said.
He said that problems faced by the Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT) had also been addressed, including appointing Nik Amlizan Mohamed as the new chief executive officer.
“We are also in the midst of restructuring the board.”
“I am confident the new CEO will be able to improve the board and ensure it functions as it supposed to,” he said, adding that they would act on the Auditor-General’s Report, which listed significant losses suffered by the board.
Malaysia, according to Mohamad, had withdrawn its troops from the Saudi Arabialed coalition in their war against Yemen.
“We had to do it as we want good relations with all countries, except Israel. However, we do consider sending troops overseas under United Nations’ peacekeeping missions such as in Lebanon.”
“The situation in Yemen has worsened, thus we have also asked international bodies to play their part in ending the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Malaysia remains impartial,” he said.
On the home front, the ministry has stopped the practice of awarding honorary ranks and uniforms to politicians and celebrities.
“We feel that such a practice can be abused. “However, the public can still earn the honorary ranks by undergoing training via the Rejimen Askar Wataniah (Territorial Army Regiment),” he said.
Mohamad also assured that the welfare of armed forces’ veterans would not be forsaken, citing that the annual allocation of RM78mil had been increased to RM98mil.
“We will also allocate RM500 Bantuan Harapan Negara special payment to veterans with and without pensions in conjunction with Hari Raya,” he said, adding that the National Veteran Council had also been recently re-established.
Other achievements over the past year included the hosting of the 15th edition of Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (Lima), said Mohamad.
“We managed to secure deals for assets amounting to RM4bil,” he said.
The ministry had also focussed on tackling the threat of terrorism, especially from Islamic State (IS), Mohamad said.
“Various actions have been taken against those involved in terrorism, including the returnees from Iraq and Syria.
“The situation is under control as the ministry, along with the Home Ministry and National Security Council, has taken proactive measures to quell the terror threat,” he said.
Despite various initiatives in the past year, Mohamad declared that he has yet to be satisfied.
“There are various aspects that must be improved upon. We should use funds allocated to the ministry prudently,” he said.