Armed forces integrity thrown open to question

It is bad enough if corruption is endemic or common in government departments but it becomes a matter of alarm – even a national crisis - if it happens in the military.

Malaysians have always had a high regard for the military but recent revelations have thrown the integrity of the Malaysian armed forces into question.

Last month, we were told that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) launched an investigation into alleged irregularities in army procurement projects from 2023 to 2025 on Dec 23 and that it was investigating “large cash inflows” into the bank accounts of a senior military officer and his family members.

Reports said the funds were allegedly transferred from accounts belonging to about 40 firms that had obtained military contracts. The MACC, later reports said, had raided the office and official residence of the officer and that it had frozen six bank accounts belonging to him and his family members.

In the midst of this, we heard that army chief Hafizuddeain Jantan had been ordered to go on leave. Later, on Dec 31, the government announced that Lieutenant-General Azhan Md Othman had been named the new army chief, effective Jan 1.

Some reports have linked Hafizuddeain to the probe.

Let’s be clear about this: Hafizuddeain is on leave, that’s all. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, so we should not jump the gun.

But whether the allegation of corruption is true or not, it is very troubling because it is the second time that someone holding the top position in one of the three wings of the Malaysian armed forces has been implicated in wrongdoing.

Malaysians may recall FMT reporting on March 12 last year that the sessions court had granted former navy chief Ahmad Ramli Nor a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) on three counts of criminal breach of trust involving the littoral combat ship (LCS) project.

Judge Suzana Hussin was quoted as saying: “After considering submissions from both parties and the Kuala Lumpur Hospital’s medical report on the accused’s mental capacity, the court finds that he is unfit for trial. Therefore, the accused is granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal, and the bail money will be returned.”

Ramli was charged on Aug 16, 2022 with fraudulently approving three payments amounting to RM21.08 million to three different firms in relation to the project.

The LCS project was said to have been the largest defence procurement in Malaysia’s history with an initial total cost of RM9 billion, but which ballooned to RM11.2 billion.

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee in 2022 noted that the LCS project contract was awarded by the government to the Boustead Naval Shipyard (BNS) through direct negotiation and that the government had paid a total of RM6.083 billion but not a single LCS ship had been completed.

Among other things, it found that the terms of the contract were weak and did not favour the government. It found too that the defence ministry, then helmed by Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, had opted for the “unproven, conceptual” Gowind design that BNS had lobbied for and ignored the argument of top naval officials that the Sigma design was better.

Malaysians will also recall the case of the infamous Scorpene submarine scandal in the early 2000s. Allegations of massive kickbacks were thrown over the government’s purchase of two French-made submarines at a cost of over RM7 billion. Investigations revealed that hundreds of millions were paid to intermediaries.

A Bloomberg report last May claimed that French prosecutors had linked Najib Razak, who was at that time defence minister, to the submarine deal scandal. Najib, through his lawyers, immediately denied this.

This latest investigation into a senior officer has turned the integrity of the entire armed forces into even louder public chatter.

The situation is alarming because it comes in the wake of reports last August that five senior military officers had been arrested by the MACC for allegedly leaking operational information to smuggling syndicates.

According to reports, initial investigations revealed that the officers had worked with a syndicate to bring prohibited goods, such as drugs, cigarettes and other contraband, from neighbouring countries into Malaysia.

On Aug 22, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim expressed concern over the arrests, especially because two of them were from the Malaysian Defence Intelligence Organisation. He rightly feared that this posed national security risks.

The fact is, over the years, the auditor-general has pointed out again and again problems with government procurement, including that of the military.

For instance, the auditor-general, in the report issued in July 2025, uncovered weaknesses in the army’s management of armoured vehicle contracts, including the failure to collect RM162.75 million in penalties imposed on its supplier. The report also found that RM107.54 million in maintenance contracts were fragmented to bypass procurement controls.

In July 2024, the auditor noted that spare parts for Royal Malaysian Navy ships worth RM384.49mil were not utilised, resulting in wasteful expenditure.

Cumulatively over the years, billions have been lost. That money could have been used to purchase much-needed military equipment.

It is bad enough if corruption is endemic or common in government departments but it becomes a matter of alarm – even a national crisis – if it happens in the military.

Graft in the military cannot be considered just another case of someone wanting to enrich himself because it involves the security of the nation; it involves the safety of equipment and the lives of our soldiers.

As I said, Malaysians have always held the military in high regard. They may distrust politicians, they may distrust civil servants and government agencies but, to my knowledge, they have never distrusted the armed forces.

The armed forces cannot treat this lightly. Neither can the government.

This is not about an individual or a few individuals. It affects the reputation of the armed forces and all soldiers. It suggests that something is rotten in Denmark, as Hamlet said.

I’m glad to note that in August 2025, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim intervened to remind those in authority to clean up the procurement process.

Urging the defence ministry to scrap its plan to procure old second-hand Black Hawk helicopters and put air force pilots in “flying coffins”, the supreme commander of the armed forces said: “I believe that all of this happened because the defence ministry is full of agents or former generals who have become salesmen. We even have textile firms wanting to sell us drones.

“If we have to follow the middleman’s price in every procurement, then the existing allocation won’t be sufficient. So don’t try to fool me.”

The King voiced something that no one had dared say openly. In November, the defence ministry scrapped the RM187 million Black Hawk lease deal.

I’m also glad that in September, Parliament passed the Government Procurement Bill 2025, which seeks to prevent public procurement-related scandals.

In tabling the bill, Anwar said: “We stress that the culture of awarding contracts through direct negotiations must end. We can no longer tolerate corrupt policies that open the door to leakages, cronyism, and abuse of power.”

I hope these are not just words and that those responsible for handling procurements will realise that they hold a sacred trust.

The government has allocated RM21.70 billion for defence spending this year, RM7.63 billion of which is for procurement and infrastructure development.

Let’s hope that from now we won’t hear of any case of corruption or mismanagement of public funds by armed forces officials. The new leadership of the armed forces must take this up as their challenge for 2026.

Public trust in the armed forces must never be shaken. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.