Former defence minister and deputy urges govt to explain RM2.3b meant for asset recovery for Armed Forces

 

© Provided by Malay Mail In a joint statement today, Mohamad Sabu and Liew Chin Tong said the government must provide more details about the asset recovery for the Armed Forces according to the respected service branch as a huge sum of RM2.3 billion has been allocated for it. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 — Former defence minister Mohamad Sabu and his deputy Liew Chin Tong today urged the government to be more specific and explain several aspects of the RM4.5 billion allocation for defence in Budget 2021.

In a joint statement today, Mohamad and Liew said the government must provide more details about the asset recovery for the Armed Forces according to the respected service branch as a huge sum of RM2.3 billion has been allocated for it.

“It is best for the government to provide more details, according to the branch of service, and what are the assets that will be repaired? It is best to give these details during the debate.

“We would also like to take this opportunity to remind the government once again to consider the long-term issues related to ATM (Malaysian Armed Forces) assets,” the duo said in the statement.

They questioned the RM30 million allocation for Cyber Security Malaysia meant to strengthen the country's cyber security, as they said the Armed Forces has already established a special cyber-service branch for the same purpose.

“In September this year, during the 87th Anniversary of the ATM, the Commander of the Armed Forces General Tan Sri Haji Affendi Buang in his speech had announced that the RMAF (Royal Malaysian Air Force) has established a special ATM Cyber Command centre to address electromagnetic cyber activities.

“We hope the government is also ready to ensure that the establishment of the ATM Cyber Command is given adequate attention,” they said.

Lastly, Mohamad and Liew also touched on the government's plan to build 1000 units of new military family (RKAT) houses as they want the government to first look into repairing thousands of RKAT units that have already been built.

“In 2019, the Pakatan Harapan government allocated RM50 million to repair almost 2000 units of RKAT.

“In 2020, an allocation of RM150 million has been provided and a total of 6000 units of RKAT are targeted for repair work.

“We hope that while the government wants to build new RKAT units, old RKAT units that are not safe to occupy will also be given attention and allocation. The fact is, these new units require maintenance allocations,” they said in the statement.

Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz earlier tabled the Budget 2021 today with the theme “Teguh Kita, Menang Bersama” (Stand United, We Shall Prevail), in the Dewan Rakyat.

Budget 2021 is the largest budget in Malaysia’s history, with a total of RM322.5 billion compared to RM297 billion for Budget 2020.