February marks the full year of the fall of Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration in a power struggle not too different than those in the epic series Game of Thrones. The administration which came into power on the perceived notion of moving Malaysia out of economic doldrums and in the creation of a more equitable society, unfortunately ran out of steam very early on which culminated in what is known in Malaysia as “Langkah Sheraton” (Sheraton move). This led to the formation of Perikatan Nasional (PN), with the name being chosen to mirror the name of Barisan Nasional (BN) and its predecessor, the PH.
Yet, despite all hopes being piled onto both successors to Barisan Nasional, these administrations have yet to demonstrate their abilities and understanding on the precarious state that the nation’s defence force, Angkatan Tentera Malaysia (ATM) as it is known in Malay. After years of neglect, Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) had been a victim of peace and political expediency.
Victim of Peace
While Malaysia was not a direct participant of the Cold War, the end of Cold War saw the nation reaping the dividend of peace. Wind of change that saw the collapse of Soviet Union had also brought all the communist insurgents that continued to plague Malaysia to lay down their arms. This had led to the initial fervour to modernise MAF from a jungle warfare counter-insurgency force into a conventional fighting force. Massive procurements to modernise the military, especially in the air force and navy.
However, the modernisation effort was at best a half-hearted effort. Most of the assets were procured in low numbers without follow up procurement. With heavy usage, these assets were soon suffering from overuse. Without replacements, this in turn affected MAF operational readiness. This is very true to both Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) and Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), with the army being less affected due to the Army-centric organisation.
The lack of active conflict also saw Malaysian public showing apathy to MAF developmental needs. Frequently, the Armed Forces procurement needs in Malaysia are ridiculed by public as wasteful as the nation is not going to war at any time. Granted, the problems faced by MAF isn’t unique to Malaysia.
Political Expediency
The problem faced by MAF came from both sides of the political divide. Then ruling party, Barisan Nasional did not have the political will to push for sufficient funding to procure military assets for MAF, opting for small purchases that little sense in terms of operational efficiency and attrition. While then opposition, largely led by Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), both which are part to PH, took the end of the spectrum, choosing to politicise military procurement to create the perception of mismanagement.
With the fall of BN administration, some of these mismanagement are now bared open. The New Generation Patrol Vessel (NGPV) fiasco reared its ugly head again with the revelation that the much vaunted Second Generation Patrol Vessel (SGPV), contracted to Boustead Naval Dockyard was facing a repeat. Yet, little was done to ameliorate the situation. Instead of taking true constructive action to fix the conundrum faced by MAF, the newly minted administration under PH had chosen to issue a defence white paper, an exercise largely seen as political grandstanding as it lacked any concrete substance on how the government plans to fix the situation.
Increasing Flashpoint
The current administration, Perikatan Nasional had come to power in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic. With the pandemic not going to get any better soon, it is unlikely that MAF would be able to get its modernisation programme restarted any time soon. But with the increasing heat at South China Sea, of which Malaysia is also a major claimant, would Malaysian government choose to bite the bullet and speed up her modernisation programme? That remains to be seen.
