Malaysian defence minister outlines procurement priorities over next five years

Dzirhan Mahadzir, Kuala Lumpur - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
14 June 2015

Malaysian defence minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein has outlined some of the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) and Royal Malaysian Air Force's (RMAF's) procurement requests under the 11th Malaysia Plan of 2016-2020.

Speaking in parliament on 10 June, Hishammuddin said future procurement would be based on the Malaysian Armed Forces' Fourth Dimension Development Plan (4D MAF) and that the Defence Ministry and the armed forces were discussing what programmes to move forward.

However, Hishammuddin cautioned that everything would be subject to the country's finances and that the government had to be realistic about what it could afford.

He cited the RMAF's Multi-Role Combat aircraft (MRCA) procurement as an example of a capability that Kuala Lumpur might not require and said limited finances meant any procurement made must be in line with the threats Malaysia faced.