SHAH ALAM: I cry if I want to. Apart from giving an explaination on the Defence Ministry’s financial commitments to three projects – Gempita, LCS and the MD530G – Deputy Defence Minister Liew Chin Tong also on Dec. 16 in parliament said that it paid RM200 million per year for the maintenance and upkeep of the two Prime Ministers submarines.
During the proceedings, the deputy minister also said this:
Sukacita untuk saya maklumkan kepada Ahli-ahli Dewan yang mulia ini bahawa Kementerian Pertahanan mengambil pandangan yang sangat holistik dan akan melaksanakan tiga pelan teras untuk memastikan ATM di bangun dengan baik dan tiga-tiga pelan ini dibawa atau dicadangkan dalam Kertas Putih Pertahanan.
Pertama, Pelan Pelaburan Pertahanan Negara (3PN) ataupun Defence Investment Plan. Kedua ialah rangka tindakan kapasiti pertahanan terutamanya berhubung dengan sumber manusia atau talent dan ketiga Dasar Industri Pertahanan Negara (DIPN).
Pelan Pelaburan Pertahanan Negara ataupun di negara lain dipanggil Capability Plan, di negara lain ia dipanggil sebagai Capability Plan merupakan pelan terperinci Kementerian Pertahanan untuk menumpukan usaha pelaburan pertahanan secara strategik supaya masa hadapan merupakan ATM yang bersepadu iaitu joined, cekap dan fleksibel. Dijangka Pelan Pelaburan Pertahanan Negara akan dikemukakan dalam tempoh pada tahun 2021 dan akan dilaksanakan sehingga tahun 2030. Pelan ini akan diiktiraf oleh kerajaan secara keseluruhan dan akan diberi peruntukan secukupnya.
Sebelum ini untuk makluman Laksamana, sebelum ini kita ada pelan rancangan perkhidmatan. Tentera laut ada 15 to 5, tentera udara (TUDM) ada CAP55. Akan tetapi, pelan ini bukan pelan yang diiktiraf oleh MEA ataupun Kementerian Kewangan. So, apa yang kami hendak usahakan sekarang ialah satu pelan capability atau pelan pelaburan yang diiktiraf dan diangkat dan diberikan peruntukan kewangan oleh Jemaah Menteri dipersetujui oleh Jemaah Menteri supaya kita ada pelan jangka panjang dan pelan strategik yang secara menyeluruh.
Ini adalah satu susulan daripada Kertas Putih Pertahanan. Rangka tindakan kapasiti pertahanan pula berkenaan pembangunan model insan di Kementerian Pertahanan dan ATM supaya tenaga kerja kita sentiasa berkemahiran tinggi dan menepati keperluan cabaran semasa. Akhir sekali, Dasar Industri Pertahanan Negara pula akan mentransformasikan industri pertahanan tempatan yang sekian lama hanya dipenuhi dengan orang tengah yang tidak menambah nilai kepada ekonomi negara.
Kedua-dua pelan ini akan dikemukakan dalam tempoh tahun 2020 hingga 2021 dan akan di laksana sehingga tahun 2030. Dengan ini, sudah jelas bahawa Kementerian Pertahanan melalui Kertas Putih Pertahanan telah bersedia untuk melaksanakan satu perubahan yang komprehensif dan mengatasi cabaran pentadbiran sebelum ini demi pertahanan negara.
Based on the above, the Capability Plan is to be formulated within the next 16 months or so (depending on when the RMK12 will be tabled). And it could turn out very different from what the military had planned for despite what were stated in the Defence White Paper. This includes the Army 4G plan which was not mentioned by the deputy minister. It also meant that some of my stories on the future force may turn up completely baseless.
It must be noted that the deputy minister also stated that the previous military procurement plans were vendor driven, a stand apparently taken by the Defence Ministry and the government. He said this was the reason the previous procurements by the BN government were riddled with corruption, delays and wastefullness.
I think this is wrong, past military procurements were always politically driven which readily explained why certain vendors were chosen instead of others. Not acknowledging this, in my view, will lead to same mistakes in the future.
— Malaysian Defence
Bad news is, all the previous plans are not agreed upon by those who hold the cash.
The positive side is, we can really reset everything and plan properly according to budget.
Yes. The fact remains that until there is a fundamental change in how we go about the whole procurement process and how everything is politically driven to benefit the local industry; nothing will change, the end user will not get the desired capability and the taxpayers will not get his/her ringgit’s worth.
One would have thought that we would have learnt by now from years of doing things in a highly flawed manner and there would be a genuine desire and commitment to change things …..
“Sebelum ini untuk makluman Laksamana, sebelum ini kita ada pelan rancangan perkhidmatan. Tentera laut ada 15 to 5, tentera udara (TUDM) ada CAP55. Akan tetapi, pelan ini bukan pelan yang diiktiraf oleh MEA ataupun Kementerian Kewangan. So, apa yang kami hendak usahakan sekarang ialah satu pelan capability atau pelan pelaburan yang diiktiraf dan diangkat dan diberikan peruntukan kewangan oleh Jemaah Menteri dipersetujui oleh Jemaah Menteri supaya kita ada pelan jangka panjang dan pelan strategik yang secara menyeluruh.”
ok then…let see how good you are in planning the long term for our defense force…really hope you take the our defense force opinion before deciding what to do…
and i also really hope Dasar Industri Pertahanan Negara (DIPN) will take lesson on the gowind and gempita.
zack,
We can be optimistic and hope so but looking at our history; have we displayed an ability to learn from previous mistakes? Even if the DIPN identifies what has gone wrong and makes its recommendations; it still depends entirely on the politicians. They are aware of the problems we face but for “national interests” may not be willing to make the needed changes.
MoF must admit that it’s plan is not working as intended. The infrastructure is deteriorating, it’s procurement policy is open and cost effective but poor value for money. With scant regard for upkeep and maintenance and the need to lock the future upkeep in the present price has resulted in many non functioning machines in many services. Please don’t play the blame game anymore.
zaidi – “MoF must admit that it’s plan is not working as intended”
The MOF’s job is to provide allocation for what has been approved for. The 3 armed services will make their case and will press for it but ultimately it’s the job of the Defence Minister – with backing from the PM, the Finance Minister and other officials – to ensure the MAF has the needed operational and procurement funds. The problem is that from the very top itself: defence is not a priority and the attitude is that it can always wait until things get better. It also doesn’t help that the bulk of voters ;whom the polticiand depend on) couldn’t care less about the MAF.
The PM I’m sure has a very good idea of the true state of things despite. for him defence being the very last of priorities. It’s possible that he’s content maintaining the status quo with who leads the Defence Ministry in the knowledge that this individual isn’t going to raise too much of a fuss and will do what he’s told.
Azlan
as always,i’m a optimistic since the so called malaysia baru already promise earlier the defense will be free from political influence and have transparency. would love to see how they achieve that or working toward that…
but in the end the defense was not in the voter mind so the politician have less interest on that.plus many on the new govt have mentality “why spending much on defense if we cant do much if China happen” or “XXX money better build school or hospital rather on defense”…
Moving forward, IMO the finance ministry should give a clear indication what is the DE budget they can allocate for 1 RMK, especially RMK12 and RMK13 then the mindef plan their DE according to that. Rather than planning the DE first then asking for the budget. Because without clear budget, even I would like to plan to get a ferrari for myself.
But for now what the services can do, is to plan their DE based on what logically the MOF could give. The DE plan should also be compared to the projected DE plans of neighbours and countries that is going to deploy their military in our region up till 2030.
Anyway off topic.
There is rumors that Algeria will be the 1st export customer for Su-57 and Su-34.
Reply
The problem is I have been told that the MOF cannot give even an estimate of the amount of money that could be given to the Defence Ministry.
I concur with Zack. Let’s see how the new boys in the Defence Ministerial seats will pan out. Or perhaps pancake(d) yet again. ‘Vendor driven’ what drivel is that when the pollies don’t think much of the men and women in uniform!
@ marhalim
MOF knows the GDP projections to 2030. Is it a big ask to have an average of at least RM4.5 billion each year from 2021 to 2030 for defence development expenditure? Can we afford to lose our EEZ and billions of ringgit it pumps into our economy by not beefing up our defence? Stop thinking too much about vendors and such, there is a much bigger worry than that!
@Zack This govt wants the Armed Forces to plan according to what is acceptable to MoF? Wow! That\’s a first! Oh wait, I seen that happen plenty in the private sectors. When the company strategy plans according to the accountants, it is to what the accountant wishes but not how the industry works, the company direction, or the general agreement of the team. When that happens, you get a demotivated team that is asked to do the impossible with the least resources these accountant-generals have deemed they can spend.
Visions should given from top-down but directions to fulfill that vision and what resources needed, must be given from bottom-up. It is not the accountant\’s role to tell how a soldier should fight, neither does a politician should. Prior to 15-5 and CAP55, there is scant direction or planning from the Armed Forces (at least from public knowledge) so politicians have free hand to chuck whatever they see in their interest to the Armed Forces. Now that we have a plan (direction), these accountants should stick to it and plan their resourcing capabilities to fulfill that direction.
zack – “as always,i’m a optimistic since the so called malaysia baru already promise earlier the defense will be free from political influence and have transparency”
It starts from the top. If the top has no desire to make the needed changes and when defence is not on the list of priorities it matters not what well intentioned officials in MINDEF do and plan.
The armed services can plan all they want and cut back all they have to but ultimately the government can’t even give a likely estimate as to when certain things can be funded; not only that but the government backtracking on certain earlier decisions only makes things worse.
From the defence minister who needs replacing to the PM who keeps him there; to our flawed politically driven way of doing things to the anti pathetic general attitude on defence; there is a vital need for a fundamental change but alas it won’t happen. Ultimately despite all the talk most – if not all – things will remain unchanged : the MAF will remain an under resourced organisation forced to do things on a ringgit pinching budget; the government will belatedly buy a bit of this and a bit of that (based on political considerations) and the general public will remain clueless and uninterested ….
zack – “already promise earlier the defense will be free from political influence and have transparency. would love to see how they achieve that or working toward that”
Like all politicians they made many promises to gain votes; some of those promises they knew were not possible …. Being politicians whose aim is to stay in power, they will tell the voters what the voters want to hear. The average voter couldn’t care less about defence and the politicians (many whom have the same anti pathetic view) know this.
Marhalim,
When were the army’s Western and Eastern Field Commands raised? 2014?
Also where are they respectively headquartered? In K.L. and Sabah?
A bit confused about 5th Division. At the moment it has the 13th Infantry Brigade and 5th Infantry Brigade (formerly under the 1st Division. Is there a 3ts brigade?
Also, the nucleus of the 5th Division was Task Force 450. What units comprised Task Force 459 prior to standing down and becoming 5th Division?
Reply
In 2014, Medan Barat at Perdana Camp, Sg. Besi and Kota Samarahan Camp, Sarawak. Yes only 5th and 13 Brigades. Only 5th and the ESSCOM brigade which is the precursor of the 13th Brigade
Pemerintahan Medan Timur Tentera Darat is based out of Kem Muara Tuang, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak.
If not mistaken Task force 450 formerly consists of 5th brigade and ESSCOM brigade, which is now the 13th Brigade.
There should be a 3rd brigade in 5th Division, the future 32nd RS Brigade. But as for now only 1 rejimen sempadan battalion is in sabah, the 8 RS in Tawau.
Off topic
There is moves to create a dedicated land border force. Would this mean the end of the rejimen sempadans? IMO having rejimen sempadans taken away from the army frees the operating budget to fund other operations.
…. – “, the 8 RS in Tawau””
Is this a newly raised unit or one belonging to the 2nd Border Regiment Brigade based in Sarawak?
Reply
I think it was transferred from the 2nd Border Brigade.
… – “ESSCOM brigade””
What sub units did this brigade comprise of?
…, – “There should be a 3rd brigade in 5th Division, the future 32nd RS
…, – “There should be a 3rd brigade in 5th Division, the future 32nd RS Brigade”
This unit is part of 1st Division and is headquartered in Sarawak.
The esscom brigade comprises of
– 7th Royal Malay Regiment (Kabot Camp, Tawau, Sabah)
– 26th Royal Malay Regiment (Kukusan Camp, Tawau, Sabah)
– 516th Territorial Army Regiment (Kukusan Camp, Tawau, Sabah)
– 2x TDY battalions from semenanjung, usually 1x mechanized and 1x para battalion
The rejimen sempadan brigade in sarawak is the 31st briged sempadan. The one in semenanjung is 30th briged sempadan. The one to be raised in sabah would become the future 32nd briged sempadan. 2x RS battalions from sarawak is supposed to be transferred to sabah but as for now only 8 RS has made the transfer.
Off topic.
There is one RS battalion in the middle of nowhere, hundreds of km away from any borders in bera, pahang, the 11 RS. A brand new camp was specially built to host that battalion. Was that unit created just to buy votes in bera parlimentary? Is that unit currently still around?
Off topic
So much for being buddies with Iran eh?
http://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2019/12/552149/iran-seizes-ship-arrests-16-malaysian-crew-members
… – “So much for being buddies with Iran eh””
It depends. Were they really doing something illegal or otherwise? If so we can’t expect the Iranians to turn a blind eye and release them merely because of the state of bilateral relations.
…. – “Was that unit created just to buy votes in bera parlimentary””
I believe the location selected was due to mundane reasons such as a base not being available elsewhere or even for administrative reasons. Also the HQ and actual base may be a long way from the border but elements of the unit may be forward deployed along the border or in temporary forward basing locations. If it was a question of buying votes there would have been other more easier and enticing ways of doing so rather than going through the extremely tedious and expensive process of raising a unit and specifically basing in an area where votes are needed.
Were the 7th and 26th RMR originally part of 1st Division?
@ azlan
“rather than going through the extremely tedious and expensive process of raising a unit and specifically basing in an area where votes are needed”
Was done in a few other places before by the BN government. Building new bases are also $$$ making opportunities too.
“Were the 7th and 26th RMR originally part of 1st Division?”
Yes, specifically 5th Brigade Sabah. 5th Brigade used to have 4 infantry battalions and 2 wataniah battalions. So half of its battalions are transferred to create the new 13th Brigade. No infantry battalions from semenanjung so far has been transferred permanently to 5th Division. But IMO at least 1 should be.
@…
“Building new bases are also $$$ making opportunities too.”
If building new bases are a $$$ making opportunity, then why is our current bases in dilapidating state and not being maintained? Surely there is more $$$ to be made in refurb/rebuilding them.
@ joe
Repairs are hit and miss to quote, unlike newbuild. You could quote low and find more to repair when you got the project. Anyway new bases are build in new areas where politicians want to shore up votes, even when the army itself objected to the plan.
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/05/22/hisham-i-leave-it-to-them-to-conduct-thorough-probe
@…
Hmm, perhaps… but new builds are just as hit and miss, if shoddy work and poor materials are used (usually because of lowest bidder pricing and sub-cons tiering) then many of the new buildings won’t be durable and the contractor/s will be forced to spend more on warranty repairs. AFAIK buildings have a warranty of 25 years for structural defects and some contractors might be forced to pay compensation if the Armed Forces has had enough of recurring problems. Many new government schools have these issues in the past.
Either ways, dealing with government business is a poisoned chalice itself. Its just a matter if you can survive the poisoning and thrive.
Kita perlu upgrade pertahanan kita supaya apabila tidak akan berlaku lagi peristiwa tuntutan sabah di Malaysia untuk kali ke dua.