Stop the rot, fortify nation’s defence, says former navy chief

 

K Thanabalasingam, 87, the navy’s first local chief, took over its helm in 1967.

PUTRAJAYA: There is an urgent need to fortify the defence and security of the nation by following through on plans, preventing procurement leakages and ensuring contracts go to competent people, one of the country’s decorated former military officials said.

K Thanabalasingam, the country’s first local navy chief, said several governing administrations that ruled the country in recent years had neglected the needs of the defence and security forces for far too long.

He said the acquisition of military and security assets needed a proper development plan, considerable time, an adequate budget, and manpower trained to handle increasingly sophisticated equipment and software.

“As it is, our previous governments have through the years neglected the defence and security forces for far too long through unnecessary politicking – much to the detriment of our capabilities in critically safeguarding our shores and airspace credibly,” said Thanabalasingam who took over the navy in 1967.

“There has been no concerted effort to follow-up on development plans, with many procurement programmes, like naval shipbuilding, going awry in the past three decades. We should stop the rot as soon as possible and move on.”

Thanabalasingam, who recently turned 87, called on the relevant agencies to practice accountability by not awarding procurement contracts to undeserving parties.

He also lamented the practice of paying “inefficient and ineffective (local) contractors” upfront before they begin their task, with the government and end-user suffering when these contractors fail to deliver.

He cited the awarding of contracts for new-generation patrol vessels in the 1990s, and the subsequent delays in acquiring the littoral mission ships and littoral combat ships as examples.

He added that over time, Malaysians had the habit of forgetting past inadequacies and failures.

“We have been making the same mistakes repeatedly, and paying a heavy price at the expense of our defence and security of the nation,” said Thanabalasingam.

“There ought to be a proper check and balance to thwart the leakages which are very critical. They have left a deep chasm, and the government needs to urgently wake up.”

He said there was hardly any scandal when he helmed the RMN, as the navy had always adhered to proper rules and regulations.

Thanabalasingam served during two Emergencies (1948-1960 and 1968-1989) and the Confrontation with Indonesia (1963-1966).

He joined the RMN in Singapore on May 1, 1955, and became one of nine pioneer cadets sent to Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth in England in December that year.

To date, he remains the youngest and longest serving RMN chief, as well as the only non-Malay service chief. - FMT