Importance and Signicance of Self-Reliance Principle on the Development of the Malaysian Defense Industry

Abstract

To ensure the security of the nation, the Malaysian government has put in place an imperative guideline in its Defense Policy, in which the Defense Industry must have a self-reliance capability and should not be too depended on foreign defense assets. This is essentially the basic principle in which most nations would put into place in the effort to strengthen their defense and military capability. Perhaps due to its importance, it should be considered as the main component for the development of Malaysia’s Defense Policy. The issue of being overly dependent on foreign defense assets have been going on for years, and even now the Malaysian Defense Industry is still incapable of fulfilling the needs of the Malaysian Armed Forces. The aim of this paper is to analyze, and highlight the importance of self-reliance principle to ensure the growth of Malaysia’s Defense Industry, would enhance the combat capability and advancement of Malaysia’s Military assets.