Defence Asset Procurement Policy - A Need

The last major large scale defence asset procurement made under a single programme was under the PERISTA (Program Pembangunan Rancangan Istimewa ATM) which began in the late 70's which trickled through the 1980's.

The programme which saw Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) underwent a large scale modernization programme which changed it's face from a counter-insurgency centric defence force into a largely capable semi-conventional armed forces.

Part of PERISTA Programme.  Unfortunately, there is a dearth of material on PERISTA purchases.

Boustead Unit Bags RM92m Mindef Contract

Boustead Holdings Bhd’s unit, Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd has bagged a RM92.43 million contract from the Ministry of Defence Malaysia (Mindef) for the scheduled refit maintenance of a patrol vessel, known as KD Pahang for the Royal Malaysian Navy. 

In a note to the exchange yesterday, the investment holding company said the KD Pahang work will contribute positively to the earnings of the group for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2015, and 2016. The written acknowledgment was executed on Sept 17, 2015. (The Malaysian Reserve)

Importance of a Strong Indigenous Defence Industry for National Sovereignty

by Danny Liew Shan Lee

In discussing the defence capabilities of a nation, the most favourite comparison method is of the nation’s defence assets or OrBat (for Order of Battle). Today, we are beginning to see the proliferation of indigenously produced combat assets being used by the Malaysian Armed Forces, from our NGPV to Adnan AIFV.

Introduction of indigenously produced combat assets are a step forward towards creating a self-reliant military capable of defending the nation’s sovereignty. However, these procurements had been dogged by several scandals that had brought disrepute to the local defence industry. This had brought calls to the MAF to obtain combat equipment from reputable international defence equipment suppliers using the off-the-shelf concept.

Before going further, best that we have a look into several scandals that had brought disrepute to the industry.

Kedah class NGPV KD Selangor (Pennant No 176) as seen during the Navy Day 2014 in Lumut.  Photo courtesy of MalDef group.