An Overview of the Malaysian Defence Industry and Way Forward

Abstract

The aims of this study are: (1) To arrive at an overview of the Malaysian defence industry development since its inception and (2) To identify the challenges faced and its future development. This study applies a content analysis from related secondary sources for both aims with interviews conducted of two defence industry players to further assists the issues faced by the Malaysian defence industry. Malaysia can be considered a ‘third-tier’ arms producing country which is relatively ‘low tech’. The development of the Malaysian defence industry began with maintenance and repairs in the aerospace industry and has grown into other areas such as weapons, information and communication technology, automotive and maritime. Its defence industry is faced with many challenging issues in furthering its development. The research is to analyse these issues and to provide practical and functional recommendations to further enhance the Malaysian defence industry and its defence self-reliance. The Malaysian government needs to refine a strategy in a holistically manner involving all the interested parties for the future needs of the country’s security and defence; and aligning it with the necessary capabilities development of the Malaysian Armed Forces that can assuredly safeguard the country’s sovereignty and integrity, and the country’s survivability in times of major powers conflicts. The effort by the government to produce a defence white paper is lauded that may assist in overcoming the many challenging issues faced by the Malaysian defence industry.