a day ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
PM: Defence procurement, spending up due to political uncertainties
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has increased defence procurement and development spending by RM2 billion from 2020 to 2024 in light of geopolitical uncertainties, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat, he said, spending had increased from RM3 billion in 2020 to RM5 billion in 2024.
"Recently, there has been an increase in military preparedness by the Philippines and the United States in the southern Philippines, near Sabah.
"I contacted President Marcos, and he said this was in response to China's offensive.
"Naturally, this is worrying and compels us to strengthen our readiness in Banggi Island and Sabah to safeguard our resilience," he said during the Prime Minister's Question Time.
He was responding to Ahmad Fadhli Shaari (PN-Pasir Mas), who asked about the level of national defence preparedness in facing global and regional geopolitical uncertainties.
Anwar said that as the Defence Ministry has faced decades of controversies and scandals involving helicopters, littoral combat ships, and aircraft procurements, the government has adopted a government-to-government (G2G) negotiation approach.
Apart from foreign deals, he said, the local defence industry was also very important.
"We have spent tens of billions of ringgit, but local capacity remains very limited. That is why, for example, we have provided additional allocations for preparations, including in Lumut, as well as other local activities and the procurement of fast interceptor craft for the Royal Malaysian Navy, which involve significant local contributions.
"Through G2G negotiations with Turkiye, costs were reduced immediately because we eliminated the excessively high agent commissions. The procurement process also became more efficient," he said.
He said the unmanned aerial system drones from Turkiye will arrive this December, while two sets of surface-to-surface missile launchers — the Enver Strike Missile system from Norway — will arrive this month.
For the LCS project for the Royal Malaysian Navy, 48 units of surface-to-surface missiles were already 86 per cent complete and scheduled for delivery in 2025.
"I emphasise 2025 because this project had dragged on for years with endless studies, but now the management is more organised.
"From South Korea, we have requested enhanced government-level cooperation. As such, the delivery of the Fighter Lead-In Trainer/Light Combat Aircraft (FLIT/LCA) for the Royal Malaysian Air Force will begin in October 2026 for the first unit, with the final unit by the end of August 2027," he said.
On negotiations with Italy, he said, discussions were held by the Italian prime minister herself to expedite the process through G2G.
He added that the maritime patrol aircraft for the RMAF from Italy was expected to complete its project management review in June 2025, with delivery scheduled for June 2026.
