The then-opposition leader, at the height of what was claimed to be a political plot and character assassination, was once granted refuge at the Turkish Embassy in Malaysia in 2008. It is a rare occasion for the foreign mission to “interfere” with receiving State domestic politics and extend its diplomatic immunity to the opposition politicians. But it was an exception of Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s current and 10th Prime Minister, who has his ups and downs in politics, showcasing a good relationship he has with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
On top of these longstanding personal relationships between the two leaders, there are significant developments in the bilateral relationship between the two countries, ranging from Anwar’s visit to Türkiye on 22 October 2023, sideline talk at the 78th United Nations General Assembly in New York and multiple phone calls with exchange mainly on Gaza conflicts, Islamophobia, agenda to strengthen Muslim world and defence industry.
Türkiye was the first country Anwar visited outside of Southeast Asia, and he visited it twice (14-15 February and 21-22 October 2023). And now, Malaysia’s Defence Minister since last Sunday (9 June) for his 5-day visit. Among the visit highlights are the inaugural Malaysia-Türkiye High-Level Committee on Defence Cooperation and meeting with the Secretariat of Defence (SSB) -specifically set up by the government to manage its defence industry and supply of military technology- on top of the usual meeting with his counterpart, Minister Yasar Guler and some visits to local defence industry facilities.
The preliminary major news for the Malaysian Armed Forces, especially the Royal Malaysian Navy, is the signing of a Letter of Acceptance (LOA) with the SSB President for the procurement of three out of eight Littoral Mission Ship Batch 2. Earlier, both parties inked a Government-to-Government MoU, and a letter of intent was issued to Savunma Teknolojieri Muhendiskil (STM) in February this year.
This adds more to the inventory checklist after the Ministry of Defence signed an agreement to acquire three UAVs – Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) “ANKA-S” – developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) at LIMA 2023.
Five days are considered an outstanding duration for a defence minister’s trip to only one country, and it is expected that more areas of cooperation and prospects for defence products will be identified and agreed upon in principle between the two countries.
Given the special relationship between the two leaders, it is foreseeable that both country’s cooperation in the defence industry will be further elevated. However, the practice of procurement method by direct Government-to-Government is debatable; if it is the best, not just in term of transparency but on the aspect of transparency and competitiveness deal for the end users as well as business opportunity for local vendors. It is important that the best judgement and end users’ preference are taken into account before the decision on defence assets procurement is concluded.
Author works in the sphere of public policy and has experience as a policy advisor and political-risk consultant with specialisation in public international law, national security, defence and foreign policy. He is contactable at ariff@policyadvisor.my.
[Photo credit: Khaled Nordin]
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