Arms spending signals BN’s intention to stay put

Large allocations for militarisation have created a 'power elite' hell-bent on maintaining the status quo, says an analyst.

KUALA LUMPUR: Hefty profits made from arms spending would make it harder for the ruling coalition to concede defeat if the election favoured the opposition, and Malaysia could witness upheavals similar to the Arab Spring, suggested an analyst.

Dr Ronald McCoy, from the Malaysian Physicians for Social Responsibility, told a forum calling for defence spending cuts last night that large allocations for militarisation have created a “power elite” hell-bent on maintaining the status quo.

He said this was the reason behind the resistance from the army’s top brass and its politician allies on opposition calls to audit military spending, a move that could stop the flow of “large profits” into private pockets and used to finance Barisan Nasiona’s war chest.

“If the BN government is defeated in the [coming general] election, we can find ourselves in a similar situation to the Arab Spring,” he said while pointing out that the military was backing falling regimes in the region.

“That’s why the 13th general election will be a fight to the death,” he added.

The forum was held in conjunction with the Second Global Action Day for Defence Spending Cuts, an international call for governments to channel more funds towards basic necessities and combat widespread corruption in arms procurement.

Politicisation

Several government leaders including Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak have been implicated in arms scandals worth billions, including the murder of a Mongolian woman who was said to be involved in the French-made Scorpene submarine deal.

Najib, who was the defence minister then when the deal took place, has denied links to the murder. Altantuya Shaaribuu, allegedly an interpreter, was said to have been killed after she continuously asked for her commission from the submarine deal.

French prosecutors are now probing DCNS, manufacturers of the Scorpene submarines, for possible graft in the transaction, later saying in a statement to the media that Altantuya’s murder was not the first homicide case linked to the French arms maker.

The opposition had taken the Najib administration to task over the scandal, demanding Putrajaya make public details of its arms budget but is often denied access to information on grounds of “national security”.

Tony Pua, an opposition MP leading the charge against corrupt practices in military procurement, told the forum that the demand for an audit would be politicised to the advantage of those in power.

“They would say I’m questioning the wisdom of the generals who would sacrifice their lives to defend me”.