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20 years ago, Malaysia was one of the strongest in the region in terms of defence assets. But apparently, this is no longer so. According to Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu (Mat Sabu), our country’s land, naval and air defence assets are the worst among Southeast Asian nations.
While he didn’t specify on whether he was referring to the quality of the assets, quantity or service level, he did say, “Vietnam is far ahead, Indonesia is on top, while Malaysia is the lowest.”
via GIPHY
Frankly, if this is true, then it’s very embarrassing for Malaysia. Even so, Mat Sabu vowed to work hard and turn things around for us, saying, “I will work to make Malaysia great again, number one again.”
On the other hand, Globalfirepower, a website that assesses the military strength of different nations, released a list of 2018 Military Strength Ranking this year. Based on that ranking, Malaysia was actually ranked fifth out of nine countries in Southeast Asia—ahead of Philipines, Singapore, Cambodia and Laos.
Image via New Straits Times
Mat Sabu said that over the years, defence allocations have been interrupted, and that this made it difficult for the ministry to work on projects and maintenance.
Currently, the ministry is weighing the options of upgrading our air defence capabilities to benefit patrols in the South China Sea and the Straits of Melaka. Some options include maritime surveillance aircraft (MSA) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).
via GIPHY
Info via New Straits Times
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